:00:07. > :00:08.Hello, from Portsmouth. Welcome to Although Hello,
:00:09. > :00:12.Hello, from Portsmouth. Welcome to Inside Out, more of your stories
:00:13. > :00:18.from where we live. Here is what is coming up.
:00:19. > :00:25.Workers complaints about a major Hampshire company, should we take
:00:26. > :00:28.them with a pinch of salt? We investigate the budgie burglars
:00:29. > :00:35.who snatched away one man's life 's work.
:00:36. > :00:43.As HMS Illustrious returns home to Portsmouth, the North and South go
:00:44. > :00:44.to war over her future. This is Inside Out for the South of
:00:45. > :01:06.England. First tonight, salt, we get through
:01:07. > :01:10.terms of this stuff at this time of year making sure drivers stay safe.
:01:11. > :01:12.When two workers from a major Hampshire supplier approached us
:01:13. > :01:19.complaining they had been plagued less than the minimum wage `` paid
:01:20. > :01:26.less than the minimum wage, and working in unsafe conditions, we
:01:27. > :01:30.thought we would investigate. Every year in Britain we spread up
:01:31. > :01:36.to 2 million tonnes of salt on our roads. It is what keeps the country
:01:37. > :01:41.moving when temperatures fall. Here at Southampton Docks we have
:01:42. > :01:45.certainly got enough in reserve, over 100,000 tonnes of rock salt
:01:46. > :01:49.already for the next cold snap. The stockpile is run by a company
:01:50. > :01:55.called Nationwide Gritting Services, NGS. It is clearly visible from the
:01:56. > :02:00.main road which runs past the docks, but what drivers cannot see the
:02:01. > :02:05.conditions to Polish employees say they had to work in from
:02:06. > :02:09.mid`November, 2012, until February last year. The whistle`blowers used
:02:10. > :02:12.a mobile phone to film those conditions and the equipment they
:02:13. > :02:17.say regularly gave them an electric shocks. They both want to remain
:02:18. > :02:20.anonymous because they are worried about losing other jobs, but they
:02:21. > :02:29.did agree that the company should know their names. TRANSLATION: I
:02:30. > :02:32.think this was the worst job I have ever done in my life because the
:02:33. > :02:37.health and safety rules were so often broken. I have never seen such
:02:38. > :02:41.working conditions and yet you can see my CV is quite long. Some of the
:02:42. > :02:46.jobs I have done were bad but this one was the worst.
:02:47. > :02:50.Much of the activity involves packing salt into 25 kilograms
:02:51. > :02:55.sacks. It is a seasonal job that only happens through the winter.
:02:56. > :02:59.Inside a shipping container workers funnelled assault and weigh the bags
:03:00. > :03:03.before sealing them. After working at the company for several weeks the
:03:04. > :03:10.two employees became so concerned they use their mobile phones to film
:03:11. > :03:16.this footage. The wires were not properly isolated. There was water
:03:17. > :03:23.everywhere, and the wires were insecure. There were short`circuits
:03:24. > :03:34.in the ceiling, we got electric shocks. The working conditions were
:03:35. > :03:37.awful for any employee. The two former workers say electric shocks
:03:38. > :03:41.from the machinery wasn't the only problem. We have seen time sheets
:03:42. > :03:44.which show star for working 12 hour shifts with just half an hour unpaid
:03:45. > :03:49.break, including Christmas and Boxing Day. They also were working
:03:50. > :03:55.14 days in a row before having any time off. It is the sort of hard,
:03:56. > :03:59.dirty job that experts tell us means workers must have somewhere decent
:04:00. > :04:03.to clean themselves up and take a break.
:04:04. > :04:08.There was one plastic toilet on the site which we could use, one for 12
:04:09. > :04:13.people. I don't have to say what it looked like. Especially on windy
:04:14. > :04:20.days it sometimes rolled over onto the side and was put back place.
:04:21. > :04:24.There was no running water. No running water, you can see it in the
:04:25. > :04:29.film. So you couldn't wash yourself after work, could you? After work we
:04:30. > :04:35.went straight to the minibus, neither cleaned nor changed.
:04:36. > :04:45.A site like this is never likely to win a beauty contest but is it
:04:46. > :04:50.dangerous? We show the footage to an inspector with the health and safety
:04:51. > :04:56.executive for 20 years who now works as a consultant. Now inside the
:04:57. > :05:00.packing iron and there is some electrical equipment, I cannot say
:05:01. > :05:09.what faulty jitters, but if it is mains voltage I would be concerned.
:05:10. > :05:15.`` what voltage it is. Cables are not properly terminating to some of
:05:16. > :05:19.the junction boxes. There is water dripping through the ceiling, onto
:05:20. > :05:26.some electrical equipment. If this is the case, then suitable
:05:27. > :05:30.protection should be provided on the electrical equipment, both in its
:05:31. > :05:37.design and having a high standard of maintenance.
:05:38. > :05:47.Concerned about the business `` video Matthew wanted to learn more.
:05:48. > :05:50.We only got those high visibility jacket and gloves, the gloves were
:05:51. > :06:00.used up in two days and you only got one per week. That was our equipment
:06:01. > :06:05.for work when it was only one degree Celcius outside. There was a brief
:06:06. > :06:12.but it was leaking, there was a fun, what a good get inside easily.
:06:13. > :06:15.`` there was a roof. There are a number of areas that need attention.
:06:16. > :06:24.The first one is the electrical systems. They say they received mild
:06:25. > :06:28.shocks, which clearly should not be the case. Looking at the video, it
:06:29. > :06:36.needs a thorough inspection by a competent person and if action is
:06:37. > :06:40.required, that should be taken. It is the sort of company 20 or 30
:06:41. > :06:43.years ago you might see more of that it is vary rare these days to see
:06:44. > :06:48.conditions which appear to be as poor as the video shows and from the
:06:49. > :06:51.information the lads have given me. The conditions that prevail at the
:06:52. > :06:55.site. The whistle`blowers claim they were
:06:56. > :07:01.paid ?5 per hour, well below minimum wage. They also claim they didn't
:07:02. > :07:05.have a contract, and didn't receive any way Chew lips. They threatened
:07:06. > :07:16.to take the company to an employment trade funeral. `` an employment
:07:17. > :07:20.tribunal. According to a document from HMRC the amount of income tax
:07:21. > :07:28.and national insurance the company was paying was for an amount much
:07:29. > :07:32.smaller. Confused, we showed the evidence to Carl Faulds who has run
:07:33. > :07:35.a business support firm in Fareham for 14 years. In that time he has
:07:36. > :07:41.helped many companies with their own payroll arrangements. They claim
:07:42. > :07:46.they were paid ?5 per hour which was on the under 21 would be below the
:07:47. > :07:50.minimum wage. Information provided by the Inland Revenue shows they
:07:51. > :07:54.were paid less than the minimum wage, according to Inland Revenue
:07:55. > :08:02.document will stop the company produced payslips sometime after the
:08:03. > :08:05.event, it appears, which shows that he doesn't tally with what the
:08:06. > :08:10.Inland Revenue have. The documentation is not brilliant, it
:08:11. > :08:15.should be clearer. The time sheets show the hours worked, they appear
:08:16. > :08:21.to be consistent. The workers payroll information, according to
:08:22. > :08:26.the Inland Revenue, seems to support the amount of money they were paid.
:08:27. > :08:31.The only inconsistency appears to be the payslips produced sometime the
:08:32. > :08:35.employees left the business, in support of a legal claim. On that
:08:36. > :08:38.basis, the inconsistencies would tend to support the workers version
:08:39. > :08:47.of events. Last year we put the workers
:08:48. > :08:53.allegations to NGS. There has been several months of correspondence.
:08:54. > :08:59.The programme can be made until we knew the company 's side of the
:09:00. > :09:03.story. We did send them a detailed list of the workers allegations
:09:04. > :09:07.concerning safety and pay. Finally the lawyers suggested the workers
:09:08. > :09:22.could have faked some of the mobile phone footage and said... You can
:09:23. > :09:28.continue to harass our client. Why do you ask about Polish employees,
:09:29. > :09:31.said their solicitors, you are being discriminatory quest map we asked
:09:32. > :09:39.you about Polish employees because they come from Poland. You are a TV
:09:40. > :09:43.broadcasting company, said the solicitors, and not the arbiter of
:09:44. > :09:48.health and safety. That is why we got in an expert to look at the
:09:49. > :09:53.footage. He was so concerned he got in touch with their Health and
:09:54. > :09:58.Safety Executive. You cannot ask about confidential pay, said our
:09:59. > :10:04.solicitors. Our client is shocked and disappointed you have. They were
:10:05. > :10:09.paid less than minimum wage, I will be shocked and disappointed if they
:10:10. > :10:13.were. Let's be clear, through his lawyers the company denies all the
:10:14. > :10:17.allegations which they should be too disgruntled former employees. They
:10:18. > :10:22.say health and safety has visited and is happy with their operation.
:10:23. > :10:26.We believe that is the case. Although we haven't been allowed on
:10:27. > :10:32.site to verify whether anything has changed, or needed to change, since
:10:33. > :10:35.the footage was shot last winter. The Health and Safety Executive
:10:36. > :10:38.confirm they have visited the say they are unable to comment on
:10:39. > :10:44.whether changes have been made or two conditions shown. Despite a
:10:45. > :10:53.flurry of legal letters we are still out a lot as to how much the men
:10:54. > :10:57.were paid. `` still at a loss. The company maintains it was that
:10:58. > :11:05.without an employee tribunal. We are confused. But it didn't take place.
:11:06. > :11:09.The company decided to settle out of court paying each of the men more
:11:10. > :11:15.than ?3000 with no admission of liability. The company says it paid
:11:16. > :11:18.up purely for commercial reasons, as it would have cost more to defend
:11:19. > :11:30.the case in court than pay the settlement. At least there is a
:11:31. > :11:34.happy ending for one of the men. TRANSLATION: I have a regular job
:11:35. > :11:38.and better working conditions will stop I don't have to worry I don't
:11:39. > :11:45.have any gloves or if it is windy. I work in a factory. It is enough for
:11:46. > :11:56.living now. Don't forget, if you think you have
:11:57. > :11:59.got a story drop us an e`mail. Imagine you spend a lifetime
:12:00. > :12:04.perfecting your happy, a hobby which becomes more like a way of life,
:12:05. > :12:10.then overnight you lose everything `` perfecting your hobby. It sent
:12:11. > :12:25.one man distraught, and he is not the only one. Budgies are Michael
:12:26. > :12:28.Freeborn's life. I am really sorry. He's been breeding them for over 50
:12:29. > :12:34.years and had a prize`winning collection of 400 budgies. That was
:12:35. > :12:39.until thieves broke into his Avery in Romsey and stole the lot.
:12:40. > :12:47.They would have been better to shoot me. There's nothing left to get back
:12:48. > :12:51.for me to do what I used to do. Mick's budgie theft is not an
:12:52. > :13:03.isolated incident. There've been 30 other similar burglaries over the
:13:04. > :13:05.last year. His collection was reported to be worth upwards of
:13:06. > :13:08.?60,000. Aviaries across the South are being
:13:09. > :13:13.professionally targeted ` leaving budgie enthusiasts like Mick
:13:14. > :13:19.devastated. They took out the wiring and everything else, and inside
:13:20. > :13:26.here, we have just got the one lonely lady now. Oh, dear. She's
:13:27. > :13:38.completely traumatised, as you can see. She is not moving about. Here
:13:39. > :13:45.is nothing. Normally I what got here just before five in the morning.
:13:46. > :13:50.I've got the ball had gone, and touch the door and it just came
:13:51. > :14:00.open. I entered and looked inside that first block of cages, and there
:14:01. > :14:13.was nothing there. Total shock. They have of this little gone like this.
:14:14. > :14:20.They're not that off. You said there was blood. Yes. That is put up
:14:21. > :14:29.first. All the brown stuff is blood. Dried blood. It is heartbreaking. It
:14:30. > :14:34.is his life. He has been doing this since before I was born. They have
:14:35. > :14:39.got no idea of the cost to him and the stress and upset it has caused.
:14:40. > :14:50.It is devastating. This is what he gets up for everyday. It is really
:14:51. > :14:52.sad. Why do it? They might as Alder shoot me. There is nothing else left
:14:53. > :14:55.to do. At the Budgie World Championships
:14:56. > :15:07.competitors have gathered to show off their exhibition birds in the
:15:08. > :15:10.hope they'll win Best in Show. Decades of selective breeding have
:15:11. > :15:13.gone into producing what's considered to be the best looking
:15:14. > :15:16.birds in the business. So these are highly desirable budgies.
:15:17. > :15:28.Now you might not think these warning owners to beware. Police are
:15:29. > :15:32.warning owners to be worth. John Hayward runs the National theft
:15:33. > :15:42.register for stolen birds. This is organised crime. If our professional
:15:43. > :15:47.fees. `` these are professional fees. I think these are being taken
:15:48. > :15:55.because they are top exhibition birds. They are being taken to be
:15:56. > :15:59.sold into, I suspect, the European or international illegal trade for
:16:00. > :16:02.breeding purposes. The recent outbreak of raids on
:16:03. > :16:11.aviaries has ruffled some feathers and put breeders on edge. Every
:16:12. > :16:17.knock of bank outside, I find myself jumping out of bed and checking to
:16:18. > :16:25.see if it is someone trying to breaking. We have put up security
:16:26. > :16:44.cameras. Life have come on. `` lights have come on. If they want to
:16:45. > :16:47.get in, they will get in. If thieves break into a knavery in the dead of
:16:48. > :16:52.night and kidnapped is lovely creatures and bundled them away,
:16:53. > :17:04.chances are, they will not survive the trial, being taken in this way
:17:05. > :17:13.`` if thieves break into an aviary. They took the lot. There were cages
:17:14. > :17:18.on the floor, carry cages. They shoved all 66 birds in this week 's
:17:19. > :17:21.chart. Gray Targett from Eastleigh had all
:17:22. > :17:30.of his birds snatched and fears none of them would have survived. It is
:17:31. > :17:33.heartbreaking. Gray had recently been diagnosed
:17:34. > :17:39.with cancer and says his birds provided him with a way of coping
:17:40. > :17:47.with his treatment. It has destroyed me. It has taken my only bit of
:17:48. > :17:51.enjoyment away. Nigel Darley from Tadley has been
:17:52. > :17:54.breeding birds for more than 55 years. He too is another victim of
:17:55. > :18:05.bird thieves ` and been forced to spend hundreds on security. I have
:18:06. > :18:10.got a camera and CCTV system, which covers all corners of the garden.
:18:11. > :18:14.This was under police advice. So do breeders like Nigel need to
:18:15. > :18:21.protect their birds more carefully? They cut through the hedge with
:18:22. > :18:29.garden tools, and cut through the two layers of wire. It is an instant
:18:30. > :18:34.numbness. It is like a dream that is like a dream that has gone into slow
:18:35. > :18:39.motion. I know it has. You realise something has gone. You would like
:18:40. > :18:43.to closure eyes, open and firemen still there. It does sound
:18:44. > :18:48.melodramatic but it's as part of the family has gone. You have got a
:18:49. > :19:02.reason to get up in the morning, to feed your birds, look after your
:19:03. > :19:11.bags. `` after your birds. Oh, my goodness me. That is the baby. It is
:19:12. > :19:21.one`day`old. That is what it came out of. One of those.
:19:22. > :19:27.Do breeders and owners need to realise what is going on and take
:19:28. > :19:32.better security measures? Absolutely. We are incessantly
:19:33. > :19:38.reminding bird keepers of all types, especially those of species
:19:39. > :19:42.which are vulnerable, that crime prevention is the only answer.
:19:43. > :19:45.But that message has come too late for Michael Freeborn. Four weeks on
:19:46. > :19:51.from the break`in, there's still been no sightings of his prized
:19:52. > :19:54.birds. It's only now that he feels ready to start his hobby all over
:19:55. > :19:56.again. Michael's re`visiting the Budgie
:19:57. > :20:07.World Championships where's he's receiving plenty of moral support
:20:08. > :20:11.from good friends and old rivals. When we saw you, you'll have had the
:20:12. > :20:18.wind well and truly not out of your sails. I picked myself up, and I
:20:19. > :20:28.decided I am going to get some more birds. Fantastic. The ultimate aim
:20:29. > :20:36.is to win this. You can still do it. I can still do it.
:20:37. > :20:42.Police tell is, as of yet, none of those stolen birds have been
:20:43. > :20:48.recovered. We are on twitter, by the way. Finally, we are in Portsmouth
:20:49. > :20:55.because of this grand old lady. HMS illustrious. Built in 1982. She is
:20:56. > :21:02.due to go out of service later this year. What happens to her when she
:21:03. > :21:05.does? Chris Jackson has the story. From the Falklands to the
:21:06. > :21:10.Philippines, she is one of the Royal Navy's most famous ships. Now HMS
:21:11. > :21:13.Illustrious is due to be decommissioned and three of
:21:14. > :21:16.Britain's most famous ports are bidding to provide her final resting
:21:17. > :21:30.place. Portsmouth Hull and Tyneside have entered a race to secure the
:21:31. > :21:36.navy's last aircraft carrier. We are the home of the British Navy,
:21:37. > :21:45.anyway. I will dedicate whatever time and energy is necessary to make
:21:46. > :21:47.it a success. We have an opportunity.
:21:48. > :21:57.Illustrious has always been close to the nations' heart. Argentina has
:21:58. > :22:01.invaded the Falklands. Fighting a war 8,000 miles away
:22:02. > :22:15.meant Britain needed every ship in the fleet. But Illustrious, launched
:22:16. > :22:18.by Princess Margaret a couple of years earlier, wasn't finished.
:22:19. > :22:21.Could she be made ready for sea in half the normal delivery time? That
:22:22. > :22:25.question was answered after a series of crisis meetings. Yes, it could be
:22:26. > :22:31.done, but hundreds of tradesmen would have to work around the
:22:32. > :22:40.clock. They did not hesitate. Soon as I saw them, I knew they were
:22:41. > :22:44.intent on making a success of this. I think of the wonderful work that
:22:45. > :22:51.went on to achieve this against the odds.
:22:52. > :22:59.But the pace quickened even further when this ship became one of the
:23:00. > :23:10.first casualties of the war. HMS Sheffield was hit by a missile. It
:23:11. > :23:19.was really traumatic. Many others were upset. We wanted to do what
:23:20. > :23:22.ever we could to help. `` many of us were Roxette. We could do was get
:23:23. > :23:33.finished. So deadlines were set and beaten and Illustrious was ready for
:23:34. > :23:39.sea. It is a milestone for the Royal Navy. It is a milestone for the
:23:40. > :23:48.United Kingdom. It is an extremely important milestone for the
:23:49. > :23:51.Alliance. Well done, and thank you very much indeed. The scenes as
:23:52. > :24:02.Illustrious sailed down river were unprecedented. The emotions was
:24:03. > :24:15.extraordinarily. We have thousands of people here. Tyneside fell for
:24:16. > :24:21.this shift. When we sailed down the river, there were so many people
:24:22. > :24:24.mining the banks. We have been given exclusive access
:24:25. > :24:29.to the personal records of Admiral Sir Jock slater who later became
:24:30. > :24:38.First Sea Lord. At his home in Hampshire, he showed his scrapbooks
:24:39. > :24:41.and home movie of that time. It includes some lighter moments on the
:24:42. > :24:47.voyage south such as crossing the Equator and its age`old ceremony.
:24:48. > :24:53.Captain Slater, we welcome you here. We trust you will joiners in a
:24:54. > :24:57.jug of beer. There was also a drama when this
:24:58. > :25:00.sailor who had been playing in goal in a flight deck football match had
:25:01. > :25:12.to be rescued. I think you thought he was got's gift to the England
:25:13. > :25:15.football team. This was the moment when Illustrious
:25:16. > :25:21.steamed past HMS Invincible to salute the ship she was relieving.
:25:22. > :25:23.The war had been run before Illustrious reached the Falkland's
:25:24. > :25:33.patrolling the islands and guarding against further possible attack. We
:25:34. > :25:41.did not know what the threat was going to rain. `` what the threat
:25:42. > :25:44.was going to be. This was just the beginning of a
:25:45. > :25:47.32`year career which placed Illustrious in harm's way at
:25:48. > :25:54.virtually every major theatre of conflict since then. But this is
:25:55. > :25:58.where history meets controversy. The Ministry of Defence has been under
:25:59. > :26:01.fire in recent years for allowing the break`up of famous ships often
:26:02. > :26:23.abroad as filmed by including this filmed by Inside Out in Pakistan.
:26:24. > :26:27.Now, she could be saved. The MoD `` bidders have to put in an expression
:26:28. > :26:34.of interest. There is then an inspection phase, which will kick
:26:35. > :26:42.off in a fortnight's time. Then we will hear the proposals. We have
:26:43. > :26:47.lined up the contenders. I'm certain everybody in this region will be
:26:48. > :26:57.behind a bit like that. The ship like that can be the centrepiece of
:26:58. > :27:04.a maritime attraction. It will raise the profile of the city. I am
:27:05. > :27:10.delighted the old girl is potentially coming up to Yorkshire
:27:11. > :27:15.to be with me again. The city is crying out for conference facility.
:27:16. > :27:21.This would give is the opportunity to use part of the ship for that. It
:27:22. > :27:23.would not like any other conference centre.
:27:24. > :27:27.Each of the contenders will have to find a birth, maybe a dry dock to
:27:28. > :27:30.locate the ship, money we understand tens of millions of pounds and a
:27:31. > :27:33.link with other maritime developments such as housing or
:27:34. > :27:45.shops. `` berth. In Portsmouth, there's huge confidence. We have
:27:46. > :27:52.been speaking about the safety of the ship. That is a big
:27:53. > :28:02.consideration. We have the expertise in shipbuilding. We will have the
:28:03. > :28:05.people that control. Everyone is keeping details of the
:28:06. > :28:08.final bids close to their chests while the bidding process goes on. A
:28:09. > :28:17.decision should be made later this year.
:28:18. > :28:26.You never know, there could one day be one more historic ship here in
:28:27. > :28:35.Portsmouth. That is it for now. Don't forget the e`mail. See you
:28:36. > :28:38.next week. Next time, if you thought the flood stories were over for this
:28:39. > :28:49.year, try telling that to these people. And how an ordinary care how
:28:50. > :29:11.is now on Interpol's most wanted list. Give yourself in.
:29:12. > :29:17.Jude Law has given evidence at the phone hacking trial. The court heard
:29:18. > :29:23.a family member had sold stories about him. A former reporter said he
:29:24. > :29:24.discussed intercepting phone calls between two