:00:00. > :00:16.it's time for the news where you are.
:00:17. > :00:21.Good evening. A Carmarthenshire business is one of the first in the
:00:22. > :00:26.UK to be named and shamed for failing to pay the minimum wage. The
:00:27. > :00:29.car-wash firm will now be fined. But, as the UK Government warns that
:00:30. > :00:33.tougher penalties are on the cards, a union says larger companies are
:00:34. > :00:38.also cheating many staff out of a legal wage. Our business
:00:39. > :00:41.correspondent Brian Meechan reports. It was a landmark piece of
:00:42. > :00:45.legislation. The introduction of the minimum wage was top of the agenda
:00:46. > :00:50.for the Labour Government that swept to power in a landslide victory in
:00:51. > :00:53.1997. But enforcing the minimum wage has always been the challenge. Now
:00:54. > :00:58.the UK Government is clamping down on bosses who fail to pay. Five have
:00:59. > :01:01.been named and shamed, including Ruzi Ruzyyev, a car wash operator in
:01:02. > :01:11.Carmarthen who underpaid one worker by ?225. The minimum wage is ?6.31
:01:12. > :01:15.for everyone 21 years old and over. 7% of workers in Wales earn that
:01:16. > :01:21.amount, with 6% being the figure for UK-wide workers. And from next week,
:01:22. > :01:28.employers will be fined up to ?20,000 per underpaid worker. There
:01:29. > :01:31.are calls for the introduction of a higher rate, known as the living
:01:32. > :01:35.wage. Workers under the age of 21 get less than ?6.31. I actually
:01:36. > :01:41.worked at a restaurant last summer and they paid me ?3.75 an hour, and
:01:42. > :01:50.on top of that, they taxed me. My friend works in a pub and she earned
:01:51. > :01:55.?3. I think it is a bit of a shame, because I was on ?6 and I was doing
:01:56. > :01:58.the same job as her. I have always been on minimum wage, I have never
:01:59. > :02:01.been on anything else. But Labour and the trade unions say the UK
:02:02. > :02:04.Government isn't even scratching the surface of the problem. They also
:02:05. > :02:08.claim that larger companies are guilty of underpaying and are yet to
:02:09. > :02:11.be caught. Employment is one of the biggest costs faced by businesses.
:02:12. > :02:14.That is why, in tough economic times, bosses often try to reduce
:02:15. > :02:17.their wage bill. Generally, organisations know that it is
:02:18. > :02:20.through people that they can achieve the sustainable advantage they are
:02:21. > :02:23.looking for. However, it is ironic that it tends to be those people and
:02:24. > :02:27.people practices that get cut initally, because of the attitude of
:02:28. > :02:32.them being a cost, not so much asset or an investment. Cracking down on
:02:33. > :02:36.employers who don't pay with heavy fines is likely to be welcomed by
:02:37. > :02:40.most. Not only does it cheat the workers out of what they are
:02:41. > :02:45.entitled to, it is unfair on other businesses who do play by the rules.
:02:46. > :02:50.Fewer than one in five Welsh voters say they would like to see an
:02:51. > :02:53.independent Scotland. That's one of the results from the annual St
:02:54. > :02:57.David's Day poll, commissioned by BBC Wales. The poll indicated 19% of
:02:58. > :03:00.people here back the idea of independence for Scotland, compared
:03:01. > :03:04.with 69% who believe it should stay in the union in the September
:03:05. > :03:10.referendum. Out of the 1,000 people questioned, just 5% support
:03:11. > :03:13.independence for Wales. As we're moving into election territory, with
:03:14. > :03:16.Europeans and generals coming up, maybe attitudes in general about
:03:17. > :03:22.political issues are starting to harden a little bit. This isn't a
:03:23. > :03:24.major change. Support for devolution is still the clear majority
:03:25. > :03:28.position, but it is interesting there has been - at least, in this
:03:29. > :03:34.one survey - a small upward movement in the numbers opposing devolution.
:03:35. > :03:37.New figures show that nearly half the money spent making NHS staff
:03:38. > :03:40.redundant in Wales over the past three years was paid out by the
:03:41. > :03:45.Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board in North Wales. Almost ?1
:03:46. > :03:49.million was spent making six people redundant. The Welsh Conservatives,
:03:50. > :03:53.who got hold of the figures, said they were "eye-watering". Betsi
:03:54. > :04:08.Cadwaladr health board say the pay outs follow nationally agreed terms
:04:09. > :04:11.and conditions. Traditionally, NHS workers possibly were earning less
:04:12. > :04:15.than people in the private sector, etc. But by now, salaries in the
:04:16. > :04:18.public sector have caught up with the private sector and yet this
:04:19. > :04:23.policy is still in existence. So that is why now it seems quite, I am
:04:24. > :04:26.sure to a lot of people, seems quite unfair, even though it is not the
:04:27. > :04:28.fault of the individuals involved, obviously.
:04:29. > :04:32.Plans to give income tax powers to Wales should be put to the people in
:04:33. > :04:35.a referendum, according to MPs on the Welsh Affairs Committee. They
:04:36. > :04:38.also agreed that the way funding is allocated to Wales from the UK
:04:39. > :04:41.Government should be examined before the General Election next year. The
:04:42. > :04:44.committee has been looking at the draft Wales Bill, which sets out tax
:04:45. > :04:47.and borrowing powers. The leader of Cardiff Council has
:04:48. > :04:50.announced she's standing down because of her husband's ill health.
:04:51. > :04:53.Heather Joyce, Labour councillor for Llanrumney, will formally resign
:04:54. > :04:58.once a new leader has been elected. Mrs Joyce said it was a difficult
:04:59. > :05:01.decision. He's the controversial owner of
:05:02. > :05:04.Cardiff City who's not shy when it comes expressing his views. Vincent
:05:05. > :05:07.Tan has launched a staunch defence of his actions, saying he believes
:05:08. > :05:11.he's been unfairly portrayed as a villain. In an exclusive interview
:05:12. > :05:15.with the BBC, the 62-year-old says critical fans owe him an apology
:05:16. > :05:20.and, although he plans to stay at the club, he could be forced out if
:05:21. > :05:23.supporters turn on him. Matthew Murray reports.
:05:24. > :05:27.Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia and home to Vincent Tan.
:05:28. > :05:30.Here, the billionaire businessman is celebrated. Hundreds turn out to
:05:31. > :05:33.mark his birthday and his achievements and in the birthday
:05:34. > :05:37.speeches, as well as thanking well-wishers, there was a mention of
:05:38. > :05:42.Cardiff City. As you all know, I brought into Cardiff City Football
:05:43. > :05:48.Club. Sometimes I wonder why I did that. It is a far cry from his
:05:49. > :05:51.reception in Cardiff. After changing the club colours from blue to red
:05:52. > :05:54.and sacking the fans' favourite Malky Mackay as manager, some
:05:55. > :05:59.supporters have painted him as the villain. But he believes they are in
:06:00. > :06:03.the minority. The problem is you have 10%, or 5%, or maybe a few
:06:04. > :06:06.hundred people who are not supportive, they are more vocal, you
:06:07. > :06:13.know. And then you have the British press, who has been misled. The
:06:14. > :06:18.working relationship between Tan and Mackay was obviously strained. The
:06:19. > :06:22.man he has appointed to keep Cardiff City in the Premier League is more
:06:23. > :06:26.than happy with how their role is defined. He wants to know the ins
:06:27. > :06:29.and outs. It has got to be transparent, it has to be in a
:06:30. > :06:32.structure and he's involved in the structure. But the football
:06:33. > :06:35.decisions, obviously, they are mine. But with Cardiff City in the
:06:36. > :06:39.relegation zone and, again, talk of Tan and tactics, the fans are
:06:40. > :06:43.worried that this is more about ego. Today is the final day for many fans
:06:44. > :06:47.to renew their season ticket and I know a few people who have come to
:06:48. > :06:50.me and said that they were looking at renewing their season tickets,
:06:51. > :06:53.but they were bit undecided and this interview sent them completely over
:06:54. > :06:57.the edge. This outspoken interview by Vincent Tan has provoked many to
:06:58. > :07:00.take to social media to express their views. One fan wrote on social
:07:01. > :07:04.media, "It is ironic that Tan is making Cardiff wear red because it
:07:05. > :07:07.is lucky - yet they are consistently getting beaten by teams wearing
:07:08. > :07:10.blue". Another says that without Tan, Cardiff City wouldn't be where
:07:11. > :07:14.they are, they would be millions in debt instead. A view, of course,
:07:15. > :07:18.shared by the owner. He says he saved the club and should be praised
:07:19. > :07:23.for it. He warns that if the criticism continues, he will walk
:07:24. > :07:26.away from the Cardiff City Stadium. Matthew Murray reporting there.
:07:27. > :07:29.Rugby now, and in the Pro 12, the Dragons have lost their game away at
:07:30. > :07:34.Ravenhill tonight 38-8 against Ulster.
:07:35. > :07:35.The Ospreys were also in action in the same competition.
:07:36. > :07:38.The Ospreys were also in action in the They lost their game away at
:07:39. > :07:44.Edinburgh. The final score there, 31-25.
:07:45. > :07:51.The Northern Lights gave people across Wales a rare and spectacular
:07:52. > :07:54.light show last night. You've sent us pictures of the phenomenon, which
:07:55. > :08:00.is caused by electrically charged particles from the sun entering the
:08:01. > :08:03.Earth's atmosphere. Unfortunately, I don't think we're
:08:04. > :08:11.likely to see them again tonight, are we, Behnaz?
:08:12. > :08:15.Know, but we can see the stars, there are clear skies. For St
:08:16. > :08:20.David's day, we can look forward to sunny spells and a scattering of
:08:21. > :08:23.showers, certainly the better day of the weekend. Tonight, the odd
:08:24. > :08:28.isolated shower but for the majority of us, dry and clear skies. So we
:08:29. > :08:33.will see some frost and fog forming, temperatures down to around minus
:08:34. > :08:38.two Celsius. A brief break tomorrow from weather fronts, high pressure
:08:39. > :08:41.building keeping things quiet. This area of low pressure is not too far
:08:42. > :08:46.away, bringing wet and windy conditions through Sunday. First
:08:47. > :08:51.thing tomorrow morning, some fog patches, especially along the
:08:52. > :08:54.border. Once it myths, we can look forward to some sunshine but some
:08:55. > :08:58.coastal showers. The rest of the UK have the remains of that front
:08:59. > :09:02.across parts of the south-east, and also showers coming into western
:09:03. > :09:06.parts. The best of the brightness is into central parts of the United
:09:07. > :09:13.Kingdom. In Wales tomorrow afternoon, a scattering of showers.
:09:14. > :09:15.First thing along coastal areas, spreading through the country into
:09:16. > :09:21.the afternoon but some brightness in between with highs of 7-8. As we go
:09:22. > :09:26.through tomorrow night, show emerging into longer spells offering
:09:27. > :09:30.but they will whizz through quickly -- showers merging. We start Sunday
:09:31. > :09:33.on a grisly note ahead of the next weather front, which will reach
:09:34. > :09:38.Pembrokeshire by lunchtime and quickly spread eastwards thanks to
:09:39. > :09:43.the wind. Behind it, showers going into Sunday night. More showers to
:09:44. > :09:47.come on Monday, they could be wintry with brightness in between. I am
:09:48. > :09:48.hopeful of something a little bit milder as we go into the middle of
:09:49. > :09:51.the week. hopeful of something a little bit
:09:52. > :09:55.milder as Fingers crossed. And that is Wales Today. From all of
:09:56. > :09:57.us on the late team, have a great weekend, goodbye.