29/04/2014 BBC Wales Today

the papers on the BBC News Channel in a few minutes. Now we

Good evening. We will go on strike - that's the message from unions

tonight, angry that some council workers in Wales are facing a pay

freeze - when all other local authorities are giving their staff

pay rises. At a meeting tonight at Bridgend Council, union officials

have been urging bosses to change their minds.

It was all calm on Porthcawl beach today, but inland there is a storm

brewing. And it's all to do with Bridgend Council's pay negotiations

this financial year. The deal on the table is to freeze its pay of all

but its lowest-paid staff. A deal affecting some 6000 of its workers.

A librarian earning less than ?15,000 would see their pay rise by

one percent. A binman, whose salary is above that threshold, would also

be hit by the freeze. It's the same for this woman. She is on a

full-time secondment with Unison at the moment, but receives her ?19,000

salary from her job as a council tax inspector.

If there are individuals who are being paid a better wage just across

the border, then that is going to be a huge incentive to look out for

alternative employment. Because Bridgend council is acting

alone in offering the pay freezes, the remaining Welsh councils

negotiate pay deals jointly with the vast majority of English and

Northern Irish councils. They are offering all staff a rise of 1%, and

the lowest-paid a slightly higher rise. Local Assembly Member and

First Minister Carwyn Jones has told BBC Wales he is willing to meet both

parties any bid to resolve the matter, after receiving a letter

from Unison. The unions concerned at the Labour-run council will start

the ball rolling on regional pay. A policy opposed strongly by the

Labour Party and Mr Jones. It is a concern shared by a former Labour

leader of Bridgend Council. The Conservatives would like to see

UK pay bargaining broken up. They'd like to see benefits broken up. And

here we have a Labour-controlled authority in an area represented by

the First Minister, who rightly has come out against regional pay.

Everybody knows that regional pay would really hit Wales hard.

Unions met the council's Cabinet this evening to try and convince

them to reverse their decision. They are threatening to strike if they

refused to do so. I think there will be a precedent,

if Bridgend do carry out this decision. And then we would have

this dispute on a yearly basis. I hope other authorities do not see

that as a way forward. But the Council is sticking to its

guns, saying taking the decision means it will be able to limit job

losses as much as possible while continuing to provide and protect

essential services. But the Council is sticking to its

guns, saying taking the decision It added, the proposals had arisen

because of the need to deliver savings of ?36 million in the next

few years. These savings on the horizon require tough decisions,

which could have big consequences. which could have big

Staying with council budgets, there'll be changes to bin

collections in Gwynedd from October. The council has become the first in

Wales to approve refuse collections every THREE weeks. The council says,

the changes will save money and help the environment - but some residents

aren't happy. For many parts of Wales this is becoming a less

frequent sight. Kerb-side refuse collection for non-recyclable waste.

In Gwynedd, though the pick-ups are being reduced to one every three

weeks. The council says it is facing fines from the Welsh Government if

it sounds too much to landfill. It has had to make changes. We have to

recycle more. The days of throwing things any hole on the ground are

passed, I'm afraid. The council cannot afford the fine but we get

from the Welsh Government. Gwynedd is the first council in

Wales to introduce this, although Falkirk in Scotland is introducing

the scheme. There are limits on the amount of waste people can leave. In

Swansea it is up to three bags of reforming. There is also a two bag

limit every fortnight in Monmouthshire and Cardiff Council is

considering a collection. In Gwynedd, there will still be

recycling collections as well as bigger bins for households of more

than six people. There will be facilities to dispose of nappies as

well. I ran out of space after a fortnight so three weeks will not

make any difference. I don't think a three-week collection is often

enough really. They should stick to two weeks. Some people put them out

too early. Seagulls. The council says the annual saving

of ?350,000 will mean fewer cuts elsewhere. It is urging all

residents not to throw out its new plans.

A surveyor who examined parts of the Gleision colliery days after four

men lost their lives underground, has told a jury - there were

inconsistencies between his map of the mine and the one lodged with the

coal authority. The miners drowned after breaching old workings nearly

three years ago. Mine manager Malcolm Fyfield denies four counts

of manslaughter through gross negligence - and the mine operators

also deny four counts of corporate manslaughter.

Plans to cut the number of people suffering from lung disease have

been announced by the Welsh Government. They include raising

awareness of the dangers of smoking, and making sure people have

effective treatment. Tens of thousands of people in Wales live

with illnesses like asthma and emphysema.

A group of councillors in Wrexham say, areas of the county are

becoming like 'jungles' because grass verges and open spaces are

only being cut twice a year. They say, the decision to stop cutting

eight times a year should be reversed - as it might put off

investors and tourists. The council says, it's in an "extremely

difficult" financial situation at its maintenance Budget was cut by

three hundred thousand pounds this year.

Hundreds of people have turned out to see the Queen and Duke of

Edinburgh in Pembrokeshire. While Prince Phillip paid a visit to a

potato packing plant in Haverfordwest, the Queen had a tour

of the only horse hospital in Wales. The Queen then opened Pembroke

Dock's heritage centre to mark the town's 200th birthday.

Pembroke is a very new town, only 200 years old. It got a very strong

server space and is still very pro-services and pro-royal. And I

think it's very important in our bicentenary year for the Queen to

visit. Football and Cardiff City defender

Juan Cala has been charged with improper conduct by the Football

Association. It's in relation to an alleged incident in the tunnel --

after he was sent off during his side's 4-0 defeat at Sunderland last

Sunday. Cala has until Thursday evening to respond to the charge.

Gareth Bale has reached his first ever final. They will face Chelsea

or Atletico Madrid. At the World Snooker Championship, Dominic Dale

is trailing. The first to 13 wins. The match resumes tomorrow

afternoon. Let's get the weather. More dry weather to come. But it

will not stay dry all day. A few showers in the forecast. Some sea

fog in the Irish Sea may affect Anglesey. Temperatures dropping to

six Celsius in Terry Gilliam. -- Ceredigion. Across the rest of the

UK, watch out for mist and fog patches. These will lift. Many

places will brighten. But showers breaking out across the North,

suntanning heavy and thundery. Some rain across Scotland. Dry, bright

and cold in Shetland. But sunshine in Wales tomorrow afternoon.

Although you may hear thunder in the North. Tomorrow evening, rain and

showers will become more widespread across the country. Settled on

Thursday, with showers or longer spells of rain. A risk of thunder.

On Friday, much better. Drier, brighter and fewer strong winds. A

touch of ground frost overnight. More dry weather to come over the

bank holiday weekend. Thank you very much. News, Newsnight

on BBC Two. Thank you for watching. Goodbye.