28/02/2014 BBC Wales Today


28/02/2014

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it's time for the news where you are.

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Good evening. A Carmarthenshire business is one of the first in the

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UK to be named and shamed for failing to pay the minimum wage. The

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car-wash firm will now be fined. But, as the UK Government warns that

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tougher penalties are on the cards, a union says larger companies are

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also cheating many staff out of a legal wage. Our business

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correspondent Brian Meechan reports. It was a landmark piece of

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legislation. The introduction of the minimum wage was top of the agenda

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for the Labour Government that swept to power in a landslide victory in

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1997. But enforcing the minimum wage has always been the challenge. Now

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the UK Government is clamping down on bosses who fail to pay. Five have

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been named and shamed, including Ruzi Ruzyyev, a car wash operator in

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Carmarthen who underpaid one worker by ?225. The minimum wage is ?6.31

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for everyone 21 years old and over. 7% of workers in Wales earn that

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amount, with 6% being the figure for UK-wide workers. And from next week,

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employers will be fined up to ?20,000 per underpaid worker. There

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are calls for the introduction of a higher rate, known as the living

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wage. Workers under the age of 21 get less than ?6.31. I actually

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worked at a restaurant last summer and they paid me ?3.75 an hour, and

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on top of that, they taxed me. My friend works in a pub and she earned

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?3. I think it is a bit of a shame, because I was on ?6 and I was doing

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the same job as her. I have always been on minimum wage, I have never

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been on anything else. But Labour and the trade unions say the UK

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Government isn't even scratching the surface of the problem. They also

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claim that larger companies are guilty of underpaying and are yet to

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be caught. Employment is one of the biggest costs faced by businesses.

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That is why, in tough economic times, bosses often try to reduce

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their wage bill. Generally, organisations know that it is

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through people that they can achieve the sustainable advantage they are

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looking for. However, it is ironic that it tends to be those people and

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people practices that get cut initally, because of the attitude of

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them being a cost, not so much asset or an investment. Cracking down on

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employers who don't pay with heavy fines is likely to be welcomed by

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most. Not only does it cheat the workers out of what they are

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entitled to, it is unfair on other businesses who do play by the rules.

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Fewer than one in five Welsh voters say they would like to see an

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independent Scotland. That's one of the results from the annual St

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David's Day poll, commissioned by BBC Wales. The poll indicated 19% of

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people here back the idea of independence for Scotland, compared

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with 69% who believe it should stay in the union in the September

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referendum. Out of the 1,000 people questioned, just 5% support

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independence for Wales. As we're moving into election territory, with

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Europeans and generals coming up, maybe attitudes in general about

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political issues are starting to harden a little bit. This isn't a

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major change. Support for devolution is still the clear majority

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position, but it is interesting there has been - at least, in this

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one survey - a small upward movement in the numbers opposing devolution.

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New figures show that nearly half the money spent making NHS staff

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redundant in Wales over the past three years was paid out by the

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Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board in North Wales. Almost ?1

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million was spent making six people redundant. The Welsh Conservatives,

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who got hold of the figures, said they were "eye-watering". Betsi

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Cadwaladr health board say the pay outs follow nationally agreed terms

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and conditions. Traditionally, NHS workers possibly were earning less

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than people in the private sector, etc. But by now, salaries in the

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public sector have caught up with the private sector and yet this

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policy is still in existence. So that is why now it seems quite, I am

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sure to a lot of people, seems quite unfair, even though it is not the

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fault of the individuals involved, obviously.

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Plans to give income tax powers to Wales should be put to the people in

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a referendum, according to MPs on the Welsh Affairs Committee. They

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also agreed that the way funding is allocated to Wales from the UK

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Government should be examined before the General Election next year. The

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committee has been looking at the draft Wales Bill, which sets out tax

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and borrowing powers. The leader of Cardiff Council has

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announced she's standing down because of her husband's ill health.

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Heather Joyce, Labour councillor for Llanrumney, will formally resign

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once a new leader has been elected. Mrs Joyce said it was a difficult

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decision. He's the controversial owner of

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Cardiff City who's not shy when it comes expressing his views. Vincent

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Tan has launched a staunch defence of his actions, saying he believes

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he's been unfairly portrayed as a villain. In an exclusive interview

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with the BBC, the 62-year-old says critical fans owe him an apology

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and, although he plans to stay at the club, he could be forced out if

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supporters turn on him. Matthew Murray reports.

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Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia and home to Vincent Tan.

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Here, the billionaire businessman is celebrated. Hundreds turn out to

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mark his birthday and his achievements and in the birthday

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speeches, as well as thanking well-wishers, there was a mention of

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Cardiff City. As you all know, I brought into Cardiff City Football

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Club. Sometimes I wonder why I did that. It is a far cry from his

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reception in Cardiff. After changing the club colours from blue to red

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and sacking the fans' favourite Malky Mackay as manager, some

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supporters have painted him as the villain. But he believes they are in

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the minority. The problem is you have 10%, or 5%, or maybe a few

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hundred people who are not supportive, they are more vocal, you

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know. And then you have the British press, who has been misled. The

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working relationship between Tan and Mackay was obviously strained. The

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man he has appointed to keep Cardiff City in the Premier League is more

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than happy with how their role is defined. He wants to know the ins

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and outs. It has got to be transparent, it has to be in a

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structure and he's involved in the structure. But the football

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decisions, obviously, they are mine. But with Cardiff City in the

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relegation zone and, again, talk of Tan and tactics, the fans are

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worried that this is more about ego. Today is the final day for many fans

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to renew their season ticket and I know a few people who have come to

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me and said that they were looking at renewing their season tickets,

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but they were bit undecided and this interview sent them completely over

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the edge. This outspoken interview by Vincent Tan has provoked many to

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take to social media to express their views. One fan wrote on social

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media, "It is ironic that Tan is making Cardiff wear red because it

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is lucky - yet they are consistently getting beaten by teams wearing

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blue". Another says that without Tan, Cardiff City wouldn't be where

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they are, they would be millions in debt instead. A view, of course,

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shared by the owner. He says he saved the club and should be praised

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for it. He warns that if the criticism continues, he will walk

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away from the Cardiff City Stadium. Matthew Murray reporting there.

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Rugby now, and in the Pro 12, the Dragons have lost their game away at

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Ravenhill tonight 38-8 against Ulster.

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The Ospreys were also in action in the same competition.

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The Ospreys were also in action in the They lost their game away at

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Edinburgh. The final score there, 31-25.

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The Northern Lights gave people across Wales a rare and spectacular

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light show last night. You've sent us pictures of the phenomenon, which

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is caused by electrically charged particles from the sun entering the

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Earth's atmosphere. Unfortunately, I don't think we're

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likely to see them again tonight, are we, Behnaz?

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Know, but we can see the stars, there are clear skies. For St

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David's day, we can look forward to sunny spells and a scattering of

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showers, certainly the better day of the weekend. Tonight, the odd

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isolated shower but for the majority of us, dry and clear skies. So we

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will see some frost and fog forming, temperatures down to around minus

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two Celsius. A brief break tomorrow from weather fronts, high pressure

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building keeping things quiet. This area of low pressure is not too far

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away, bringing wet and windy conditions through Sunday. First

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thing tomorrow morning, some fog patches, especially along the

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border. Once it myths, we can look forward to some sunshine but some

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coastal showers. The rest of the UK have the remains of that front

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across parts of the south-east, and also showers coming into western

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parts. The best of the brightness is into central parts of the United

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Kingdom. In Wales tomorrow afternoon, a scattering of showers.

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First thing along coastal areas, spreading through the country into

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the afternoon but some brightness in between with highs of 7-8. As we go

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through tomorrow night, show emerging into longer spells offering

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but they will whizz through quickly -- showers merging. We start Sunday

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on a grisly note ahead of the next weather front, which will reach

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Pembrokeshire by lunchtime and quickly spread eastwards thanks to

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the wind. Behind it, showers going into Sunday night. More showers to

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come on Monday, they could be wintry with brightness in between. I am

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hopeful of something a little bit milder as we go into the middle of

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the week. hopeful of something a little bit

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milder as Fingers crossed. And that is Wales Today. From all of

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us on the late team, have a great weekend, goodbye.

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