27/10/2011 BBC Channel Islands News

Good evening. Coming opera, the pregnant pause costing new mothers

dearly. Calls to speed up maternity laws in Jersey. Guernsey's Air

Squadron vows to keep ties with the island. And winding down, we need

the man who has been Jersey's There are urgent calls to implement

maternity leave laws in the Jersey. New parents currently have no legal

entitlement to time off work. Jersey Child Care Trust is piling

pressure on the state to change the Pressures mother and baby time. In

Jersey it is a luxury not everybody can enjoy as there is no maternity

leave law. This mother does not think it is right. I do not think

it is fair because it puts too much pressure on women not to spend as

much time as they can with their babies when they are young. They do

not stay babies for a very long. Some private employers to match the

UK to laws on maternity leave. But many do not. Childcare bosses want

equal right to maternity leave. is absolutely vital we have this

maternity legislation in place to enable mothers to spend time with

their children, bonding and the taxing in the first year of life.

Social security does give cash allowances to mums who have paid

contributions. And new law is being drafted which would see new mum's

getting 18 weeks off work. It is two weeks' paid maternity leave,

with six weeks' unpaid. If you have been employed for 15 months, and

title but for a further six weeks. The new law should be in place

within nine months, good news for mums and a small victory for

Two men appeared in court today in connection with the theft of

thousands of pounds worth of jewellery from a Jersey home. Carl

Murphy, 47, is accused of burglary and theft at the house in St Martin.

44-year-old Lee Anderson is charged with handling stolen goods. The men

will next appear in court on 8 December.

Thirteen jobs are to go at Guernsey Post as a result of cutting its

delivery service to five days a week. The change comes into force

in the New Year. The firm says it's a result of steady losses as more

people use the internet. As you may have seen on the

national news, the European Union has held one of its most important

meetings since the end of the Second World War. At stake, how to

deal with its debt crisis. The Channel Islands and very much part

of the global economy. Mike Wilkins has been looking at the possible

effects of last night date with debt.

This is the moment of truth, isn't it? That is what one of the media

asked Nicolas Sarkozy. The truth is some way off. Banks have accepted a

50% loss. The UK bail-out fund will be boosted. Banks will have to

raise more capital. Some in the Channel Islands feel it is false to

claim that the Eurozone is on the way to recovery. European leaders

were strong on rhetoric and short on real accents. There are some

good things. They are inching towards a conclusion. I do not

think this is somehow the revelation the word was looking for.

By what effect will at last night's meeting have on the Channel

Islands? Jersey finance say the island is not exposed to get like

other countries, but more work is needed to resolve the issues for

the long term. It is a similar story in currency. As far as

Guernsey is concerned, we should not be unduly concerned. We have to

be alert to what is going on. The reality is, people's pensions at

stake. The security of bank accounts. These are very high

stakes games. The decisions made last night were better than feared

but less than many hoped. This is a global problem. It appears we are

all going to have to get used to be turbulence in uncertain times.

Guernsey's 201 Squadron they have been disbanded, but its links with

the island remains. They attended a special ceremony today. It is a

squadron affiliated with Guernsey for decades. Having been disbanded

earlier this year, former members travelled to the island today to

leave a very special mark. The standard will remain here in the

hope one day it may be reformed. At a special ceremony attended by

representatives from a number of local organisations, the standard

was handed over to the Lieutenant Governor. You excellently, -- Your

Excellency... I except this standard. It is an enduring symbol

of the long-standing and honourable association of 201 Squadron. It was

a move that went against normal Rayef protocol. The Guernsey has

special permission. It recognises the long affiliation between the

island and the Royal Air Force. Having chosen Liberation Day For

its last public parade, the squadron has been keen to highlight

the importance of its association with Guernsey. It is hoped today's

ceremony will have reinforced that. We do hope that in the future of

the squadron will -- will reform, and the future officer commanding

will have to come here to collect the standard and re-energised the

affiliation. Until then, the standard will be kept safe at

Government House. We will catch it clean so that at big events to

service a reminder of the historic relationship. -- we will catch a

glimpse of it. Only three days until the clocks go back. Spare a

thought for the man who has been clambering around inside Jersey's

churches, changing their clocks, for 65 years. At the age of 77, he

is winding down and needs somebody to take over.

I left school and drifted into the family business. I suppose I start

at working on watches and clocks one knows about 12 years old. It

developed from there. The first o'clock I'd saw was at St Lawrence

parish hall. It must have been around 1946 or 1947. I have carried

on ever since. The problem now is my age and my arthritis. It is very

difficult for me to combat growing to some of these trucks clocks

because of the steep staircases. -- to come into some of these church

clocks. There was nobody to follow me. The Church has to wait for a

year until an organisation comes over here, which they do on an

annual basis, or they would have to bring them over personally, which

would be very expensive. My family and my partner say I should stop.

It is alive. It away I am disappointed I have to stop. It is

only because my body has become rather more difficult to handle and

the clocks. If I had fitter legs, I would not be stopping. There we are,

job done. Finally, a baby seal has been rescued in Jersey after it was

the way from its mum. The pup, Barnacle, is less than a week old,

and was banned on rocks at Corbiere yesterday. Rescuers talking to a

local vet. He will be flown to the UK tomorrow. As far as we can tell,

Barnacle is doing OK. We got him or her rehydrated, which is the most

challenging part. Now we're looking to get Barnacle to somewhere where

they are more appropriately able to Good evening. Some patchy rain

tonight. A milder night compared to the last few nights. The winds are

generally quite light. It may be misty. Whether France in the first

half of the night. They move away. We keep a lot of cloud until later

that day. High pressure will try things out and give cause some late

sunshine. That is unlikely. For the weekend, it gets better. The

weather front will approach this on Saturday. It remains to the West.

Dry and sunny on Saturday. Some brightness on Sunday. It clouds

over later. Unsettled for the next big days. A band of cloud giving

outbreaks of rain. Petering out towards dawn. 11 degrees the

minimum temperature. Through the day tomorrow, not a great deal of

change. Wicky plot of cloud. A few chinks of sunshine break through

the cloud. North East wins. For the coastal waters forecast, mainly

We will see up to two feet and clean. The forecast for Saturday,