30/06/2011 South East Today

Welcome to South East Today, I'm Rob Smith. And I'm Natalie Graham.

Tonight's top stories... The day they downed tools - public

sector workers have marched and picketed across the South East.

When I say General, due say strike! Teachers joined the day of action -

shutting nearly four hundred schools in Kent, Sussex and Surrey.

We'll be hearing from our reporters in Maidstone and Brighton and from

a local MP who offered to spend the day helping out in a school.

A threat to Dover's future - the stark warning from P and O ferries

about plans to privatise the port. Also in tonight's programme...

Remembering the Titanic - an exhibition in Chatham recalls the

triumph and the tragedy of the most famous liner of them all.

Whitstable's celebrated oysterbeds captured by Kent's most celebrated

artist - a Turner Watercolour returns to the town ahead of its

auction. And bearing up - why this honey

loving sun bear has moved to sandwich.

Good evening. Thousands of protestors have taken

to the streets across the South East today trying to persuade the

government to change course over pension reform. One of the biggest

demonstrations was in Sussex, where it's estimated more than 3,000

people joined a rally in Brighton. Teachers and lecturers were joined

by other public sector workers including the PCSU - the Public and

Commercial Services Union, responsible for immigration at our

ports. Our political editor Louise Stewart reports.

In Sussex it is estimated as many as 3,000 people took to the streets

to protest against pension reforms. Many were teachers and other public

sector workers affected by plans to increase contributions and reduce

pension payouts. I think that turnout has been fantastic. The

response from the public has been heartening. I have been on many of

the picket lines this morning. So many people expressing support for

the action today. People recognise that people are not doing this

slightly but as a genuine reason. At have got no sympathy for them,

the reason being, there's a lot of people who would only be too glad

to have a job. They are trying to bring in changes too quickly and

they are not being fair. It is affecting a lot of people. There's

no money. Times have changed. I'm on a fixed income, I am hit as well.

Others taking part included teachers in Hastings. When I see

general, you say strike! Us were in Kent, hundred Stroud a rally in

Chatham. Customs staff walked out in Folkestone. As did immigration

officers in Dover. Passengers there were warned they could face delays

as security checks were made. In the end there was little disruption.

Wendover, came back, no problem. Those taking part thought they had

no alternative. I will have to pay an extra �100 per month, work

longer, and I will receive less at the end of it. In my opinion it is

a no-brainer. We went to school during the snow, stayed in school

premises because we are dedicated and there comes a point when you

have to protect your own interests. What do we want? Decent pensions.

When do we want them? Now! Here, there was a rally outside County

Hall. The civil service union has warned this could just be the

beginning of an autumn of discontent. We are determined on

this. Other public sector unions are prepared to stand by us and if

the government has. Start talking properly and meaningfully, I am

afraid this could be the first of many. Not all unions have supported

this. Some senior union figures view it as a mistake and say going

on strike while negotiations are still going on plays into the

government's hands. So what has been the impact on

individuals of today's action? Our reporter John Young is at St Paul's

Primary school in Brighton. John - school closures have been the most

obvious effect of the industrial action. Absolutely. This is one of

64 schools in Brighton. One of the organisers of the demonstrate an --

demonstration described it as wonderful news that more than half

of the schools in Brighton were on strike. But everybody agreed, we

spent the day with three people who were caught up in it to find out.

An unusually silent site for a weekday afternoon in June but

repeated in enough places across the South East this afternoon to

make an impact. At Tonbridge, we heard what is meant for a mother of

four with a job to go to. Tracey had to get her mother involved the

day. She didn't have much choice. had to ask my mum to look after my

kids so I can go to work. I cannot lose a day's money. In Paddock Wood,

no such problems for parents or grandparents. It was business as

usual. Sportsday was schedule and went ahead. Diplomacy was required

from head teacher. It is the age individual's decision as to whether

they strike. Some people say they agree with them and some people

said they would like to come into work and work with the children.

Other members have said, I am not sure what this means at the moment,

let's wait for more detail and then maybe I will strike later on.

Brighton and Hove, a newly qualified teacher on strike and

proud of it. A man that brought her son and daughter with her today. We

met up in the local park to talk about it. What would she say to

people who had to juggle childcare? If I understand it has been

inconvenient. We are sorry about that. I have children of my own and

had to have them with me. It is one day and hopefully it will not come

to any more. We would be in work houses if we did not have the

occasional strike. Some of them have not been the right thing to do

but this one was. When I was brought casting at lunchtime I was

able to say it had passed off peacefully but this evening, Sussex

Police announced that four people were arrested after a breakaway

demonstration got under way in the middle of town. 25 people were Obst

acting -- abstracting staff at shops and banks and some staff were

assaulted. Organisers will say that this has to be an effective

demonstration. In the furious debate leading up to

these strikes, it's the teachers' industrial action that's received

the most attention. But just how much disruption did they cause? In

Kent, 201 schools - just over a third of the total number - were

fully or partially closed. It's the same proportion in Medway, with 37

schools shut or partially shut. The figure's higher in East Sussex

where just over half - 101 schools - were affected. And 46 schools

were affected in Brighton and Hove - 64% Winning the public's support

over the strikes has been key in the battle between the unions and

the government. Four per we always regret strike

action. I came into education to make a difference for the next

generation. We never take strike action lightly. We do it with a

heavy heart but a clear head. It we are fighting for our dignity and

security in retirement. Winning public support has been key. Both

sides want to claim public backing to use as a bargaining chip in

negotiations. The latest polls show public opinion is split. A YouGov

poll found almost half the public are against the government's

proposed changes to public sector pensions, compared to 37% who

support them. Yet, there are more people against the strikes than in

favour of them - 40% in favour with just under half against. And the

level of support was roughly the same among parents of school-age

children, with 39% supporting the strikes and half opposed to them.

The strikes will cause massive disruption to learning. Can the

Secretary of State advise how the people with a series you Teggart

like myself and other colleagues can help schools stay open on

Thursday? Well we're joined now from

Westminster by Tracey Crouch, the MP for Gillingham. You didn't spend

the day working in a school because none of them took up your offer.

Are you a bit embarrassed that no schools took you up?

On the contrary. I was delighted to offer my services and I am pleased

as they might offer was head -- appreciated but they were either

closed valley, or had schools covered. It is naive to suggest

parents should go into classrooms? I was not suggesting that parents

or indeed people like myself should be teaching classes but actually,

there is a great deal that people can offer in schools. I would have

been delighted to go into school today. Because of the good work of

teachers that have not gone on strike and the heads the who have

managed it, it met my services were not required. As we heard, huge

proportions of schools were shut and thousands of people take part

in strike action. A bad day for government? I think two-thirds of

schools were either open or partially open. I think that it is

rather a disgraceful and certainly this tasteful for unions to claim

success for disrupting a child's learning when actually, we should

be paying tribute to the teachers that have continued to keep these

schools of one. Well our political editor is in

Maidstone now, where protests have been taking place against the cuts.

Louise, plenty of workers out on strike today, but just how

significant has this day of action been? The most severe disruption

was in skills across the region. Elsewhere, predicted disruption,

places like that we, Dover, caught and Jobcentres, did not materialise.

It was about a show of strength. The government is the majority of

public sector workers did not take part in the strike and

interestingly, then Labour leader - - the Labour leader, elected with

the backing of unions, say it was wrong to strike at a time when

talks were ongoing. You've been telling us what you

think of today's strike action. Rachael Claire Kinnear says: Why

can they not strike on a teacher training day? I'm a single working

parent of three - all of which are off school today. I'm now �45 out

of pocket for extra childcare costs. Sara Gregory disagrees. She says: I

believe it is actually bad for our children's education to expect

teachers to work for as long as the gevernment are saying they should.

It is a job that requires enthusiasm and energy and passion,

and people cannot keep that up in such a stressful job indefinitely.

Adrian Leader says: MPs have a wage plus expenses plus allowances...

MPs should live on a single wage like most other employees, then

they might understand what other workers have and how far their

money will go. Can keep your comments coming.

Email us or leave a comment on our Facebook page and we'll read some

of your messages at the end of the programme.

In a moment... A quarter of a million golf fans

are about to descend on east Kent, but will they bring disruption, or

a boom? Dover's biggest ferry operator, P&O,

is tonight warning that the future of the cross-Channel industry, and

the thousands of jobs that go with it, are at risk, if port

privatisation plans go ahead. Simon Jones is in Dover for us now, Simon

- some strong words from P&O? P&O have written this letter to the

government. It says, the ferry industry is an Anneke -- in an

extremely fragile state and it needs to know what privatisation

might mean for the company. It says the Harbour Board, which wants to

privatise the port, will not enter into any meaningful discussions. In

a letter written by Keith Chief Executive Helen people, it says the

management team has presided over a significant deterioration. It goes

on, Dover Harbour Board is abusing its dominant position and this

situation will be exacerbated after privatisation. It had -- P&O says

it has looked at an alternative plan, the port run by people, an

idea. Four -- brought forward by the local MP, which it finds

persuasive. I do not think anyone wants a war of words. We have the

Harbour Bar wanting to see good poured off and everybody else is

opposed to that. -- wanting to sell the poured off. No one wants

privatisation to go ahead. harbour board says it has consulted

with his stakeholders including ferry companies and in

consultations, it says, local people are supporting the idea of

privatisation. In reality, having both sides at loggerheads cannot be

healthy. Toll fees for car drivers at the

Dartford Crossing are due to go up by a pound from �1.50 to �2.50 by

the end of next year. For lorries, they'll be going up from �3.70 to

�6. Now users of the crossing can have their say on the planned toll

increases on the Department for Transport's website.

A man has been jailed for eight years for killing a Polish man in

Gravesend. 31-year-old Artur Koslowski carried out a sustained

drunken attack on the 24-year-old man at a flat in South Street in

December last year. Police discovered the victim's body in a

pool of blood at the premises two days later.

A motorcyclist who died after a collision on the A27 Polegate

Bypass has been named. 31-year-old Jason Hosker from Eastbourne died

in hospital after he came off his Yamaha motorbike on Tuesday evening.

Police are appealing for witnesses to the accident.

In just two weeks time, hundreds of thousands of golf fans will descend

on Sandwich in Kent for the start of the 140th Open Championship.

Despite residents' fears, there have been official assurances today

that such huge numbers of visitors to the South East will bring

prosperity with them - and not disruption. Neil Bell reports.

And it was very much business as usual in Sandwich but in a

fortnight, over 200,000 people are expected for the biggest annual

sporting event staged in the UK. The years ago many locals were

frustrated by road closures, but things should be better. People

coming puts more pressure on the public transport arrangements but

with high-speed rail transport, let's hope that this will not have

an impact. Market traders believe is this could be down but they

opening could be worth �80 million to be Kent economy. That is split

into two things. One is direct spend and the other is profiling

and reputation, which is comes about through promoting tourism.

The people at And which are looking forward to the golfing invasion.

am glad about it. It is good for the South East. Not certain it is

as good for the shopkeepers are. is mostly traffic causing

disruption. A lot of golfers do not come in at all. It is nice for sand

which that we are having it. will be business as usual when it

gets under way. Moguls seem to be looking forward to it. -- locals.

The top story... Thousands of public sector workers have taken

part in a day of strike across the South action. Teachers joined the

protests against pension reforms, shutting nearly 400 schools.

Also in tonight's programme... He's a fan of honey in Sandwich -

but what is a sun bear doing in east Kent?

And Whitstable's oyster beds immortalised by JMW Turner, and you

can see his watercolour in the town for the first time in nearly 200

years. The Titanic, the ocean liner which

famously sank on its maiden voyage with the loss of more than 1500

lives, was launched 100 years ago this year. Her tragic story is

being told in an exhibition at Chatham Historic Dockyard. Robin

Gibson has this special report. It is the blockbuster movie which

ships many people's imaginations of the scene after the Titanic struck

an iceberg. The place, pictures and artefact in these cases bring home

the reality of the people who live -- actually died or somehow managed

to survive one of the worst peacetime tragedies at sea. Once

they work in the. They are going to walk out again with a different

feeling about the Titanic. You can read about it and watch films and

DVDs, but, long and see real objects and personal stories behind

the items. -- come along. This is a private collection put together

over many years. It is on almost permanent true enough. Surely this

is one of the most poignant exhibits, the pocket watch stopped

at 2:30am, the moment when the ship went down. We do not know who it

belonged to. It was recovered from a body that could not be identified.

There is also a Qadi, typical of their class of travel. It is a nice

way of seeing it yourself, even down to a flooring. It is original

as can be. It is to give people a feeling of what it would have been

like. There is a reconstruction, so you can do in the creation of the

scene from the movie. Some people are interested in the furniture,

the fine china, personal memorabilia from the crew as well.

Fact and fantasy nestle side by side. Here, the necklace worn by

Kate Winslet in the film. Like a mermaid's song, the Titanic's music

lures those curious to hear her story.

Nearly 200 years ago, JMW Turner painted a watercolour of the oyster

beds at Whitstable and for the first time since then, it's being

shown in the town before it goes on sale next month. Expected to reach

over �120,000 at auction it's an increasingly rare chance for

collectors to pick up a work from He said the skies over found it

with the loveliest in Europe. It is less than 20 miles up the coast

that Turner's straight, to capture the he oyster harvest in Whitstable.

The elements in the picture, the sky, the sea, just comes together

and has an incredible way of being captured. The oyster beds of

Whitstable will be sold alongside a watercolour of St Mary's Church in

Dover. It is the I Koniks seen in Whitstable that steals the show. --

I Koniks seen. It is the balance of composition, the way he treats with

simple brushstrokes getting so much out of figures in the foreground,

the horses pulling carts up the beach. There is hardly any effort

at all and he has such dexterity. He portrays everything that is

going on. Oysters have been harvested here since the Roman

occupation. It is a town that has grown up around them. Painting the

dredger meant harvesting under the afternoon sun, Turner captured an

industry that almost 200 years later is still thriving. It is a

rare chance to get hold of the painting. It has only twice been up

for auction, having sat in one private collection for almost 100

years. With interest from across the globe, chances are it will not

stay in its place of creation for long.

The future of some of the world's rarest animals could depend on a

little known patch of countryside in east Kent. The latest addition

to the Rare Species Conservation centre is a sun bear. These

reclusive animals comes from South East Asia. They get their name from

the golden bib on their chests - which it's said represents the

rising sun. They're also known as the honey bear, because they use

their long tongues to slurp honey from bees' nests.

When it comes to finding food, this there is smarter than average. The

15 month old sun bear has come from Singapore. His favourite filling in

Sandwich is honey! He has been searching for honey. He knows

already where it is. He knows we put it everywhere. These are proper

tree climbing clause. They belong to the sun bear. In the wild, sun

bears can be found in the tropical rainforest. Their plots are

perfectly adapted for climbing and they have long tongues to make sure

they can reach any hidden in trees. Because they look cuddly, they are

under threat from poachers, who sell them into the illegal pet

trade. It is hoped this sun bear will bond quickly with Charlotte to

become a breeding pair. Despite event sun bears enjoy shade when

the weather is hot. -- despite their name, even sun bears enjoyed

It is going to be a warm again with sunny spells and it will be

reasonably warm, although none were near as part of it was last weekend.

-- no work. We started off with clear blue skies today. We still

have one or two showers around at the moment. They will be fading

away quite soon. This guys are going to be clear for most of the

night, so it will be chilly. Ashby skies. There could be temperatures

as low as three degrees. It is only the end of June, after all!

Tomorrow, clear blue skies but again, cloud building up during the

course of the day. The sun blotted out from time to time. There is the

chance of the odd light shower. Most places will stay dry and

continue to have sunny spells in between has patches of cloud.

Temperatures not too bad at around 20 degrees in land, it could or

along the coast. -- cooler. Tomorrow night will be rather

different. There will be more cloud hanging around. It will prevent

temperatures from falling as low as tonight. At the moment, high

pressure with us. We are going to keep that for a considerable time.

It will be fading in the weekend. We have to keep an eye on

developments in the Atlantic. They could mean trouble for next week.

At the moment, no such problems. It looks like it will be fine and dry

for the foreseeable future. Patches of cloud and sunny spells and with

the dry weather, bear in mind it will be high pollen and at the same

time, high UV Index. The top story: Thousands of workers

have taken to the street across the South East to protest against

government plans to change public sector pensions.

Let's go back to our political editor in Maidstone. We have had

this day of action. What is going this day of action. What is going

to happen next? The unions said they hope the

Government will change direction and listen to them. Otherwise there

are warning of further strike action and they think other unions

will join them. But sides set -- realise there has to be a deal to

resolve this and there is a tour schedule for Monday.

We have had a lot of responses from you. Mainly against the strikes.

Rebecca said her family and she believe it is not a good thing for

teachers to strike. I know many single parents who have been out of

pocket all day because of the action.

Carol says I think public sector workers are being selfish. With so

many people out of work they should think themselves lucky to have a

job. Similar sentiments here, people say

they do not support the strike and we have to make compromises with

pensions. Gary says, my son's class was

closed. We had to wait until 8 o'clock this morning to have it

confirmed. The head teacher told parents if we took our son out of

school for a holiday we would be fine �50 for the disruption to

learning. What an can I impose on a scoop for the destruction they have

cost? Please do join in on our Facebook