29/04/2014 BBC Wales Today

at night. There is frost on the way. Thank you very much. Goodbye from

me. And Welcome to Wales Today. Our top

story: Your council services. Should where you live determine how much

staff get paid? Bridgend's imposing a pay freeze. Tonight, the threat of

a strike. It is sending a clear message to me that I am not worth as

much as my colleagues at Neath and Port Talbot or the Vale of

Glamorgan. We're on the bins. Rubbish

collection every three weeks. Gwynedd is first but who's next?

He's one of the country's top chefs but Stephen Terry's staff are

accused of sexual discrimination in his restaurant.

Our reporter experiences what it's like having heart disease. That is

really difficult, just walking those few steps took me longer than

normal. It is tight around the chest and you are feeling constantly

breathless. I can't believe this is what life is like for thousands of

people. And the crowds turn out for the

Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. Full coverage of the Royal visit to

Pembrokeshire. It is a shot in the arm for the economy. The psychology

of having the most famous person in the world come to your factory, is

absolutely amazing. 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 authorities

are giving their staff pay rises. A meeting is underway right now with

Bridgend Council urging unions to change their minds. James Williams

reports. It was all calm on Porthcawl beach

today but inland there is a storm brewing. It's all to do with

Bridgend councils pay negotiations for this financial year and the deal

on the table is to freeze the pay of all but its lowest paid staff, a

deal that will affect 6000 of its workers. So a librarian earning less

than ?15,000 would see their pay rise by 1%. A bin man whose salaries

above that threshold would also be had either freeze. It is the same

for Jane who is a on a full-time secondment that 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, 15 miles

down the road, that is going to be huge incentive to look out for

alternative employment and this is my concern. I don't think I would be

the only one to be of that opinion and we could be looking at

haemorrhaging members of staff to other local authorities. Because

Bridgend councillors acting alone in offering the pay freeze, the

remaining councils negotiate the pay deals with the vast majority of

English and Northern Irish councils and are offering all staff the rise

of 1%. Local Assembly Member and first Minister Carwyn Jones has told

BBC Wales he is willing to meet both parties in a bid to resolve the

matter. The union is concerned the Labour run council will start the

ball rolling on regional pay. It is a concern shared I former Labour

leader of Bridgend Council. The Conservatives would like to see UK

pay bargaining is broken up. This is an area represented by the first

Minister who has come out against regional pay. Regional pay would

really hit Wales hard. In Bridgend they have breached the agreement

which the Labour Party across the whole of Wales has said is against

regional pay. Unions are trying to convince the Cabinet tonight to

reverse its decision and are threatening to strike if they don't

do so. It will set a precedent of Bridgend carries out this decision

and it will mean they will be this dispute on a yearly basis. I hope

local authorities have a more positive vision of working with the

trade unions and not go into this adversarial approach. 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. It added the proposals

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

few years. But these savings on the horizon require tough decisions

which could have big consequences. So the prospect of a strike then?

Yes. I've spoken to the union today and they say unless the GMB and

unite unable to convince Bridgend cabinet to reverse the decision they

are going to strike in Bridgend and that is looking likely given the

council is unlikely to change its position and it should be noted that

the unions have in fact rejected the better off on the table for the

remaining Welsh councils and the vast majority of the English and

Northern Irish councils. It is a difficult balancing act for the

councils. They have a huge amount of services and a huge amount of cuts

to find. It is almost an impossible job for Welsh councils. They are

having to balance the books against a difficult background and Bridgend

council has to save ?36 million over the next years. Given this pay

decision only saves them ?1 million, it gives you an idea of how

difficult it is. They have looked at cutting nursery places and school

transport services and they have been opposed but they have opted for

this regional pay bargaining system which has angered the unions because

they say it will lead -- lead to a situation where Bridgend Council is

the lowest paying council in the whole of Wales which will lead to a

haemorrhaging of staff and lower morale. Labour members feel up --

aggrieved because this is a Labour run council which has adopted a

regional pay system which has been opposed by Labour when it was

brought forward by the Conservatives at Westminster.

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 three-weekly refuse collections. The decision was

prompted by increasing fines for authorities who don't meet landfill

targets. 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.

Kerbside refuse collection for non-recyclable waste. In Gwynedd

though, the current fortnightly pick-ups are being cut back to just

one every three weeks. The council says it's facing fines from the

Welsh Government if it sends too much to landfill and with ?50

million of cuts to be made in the next five years it's had to make

changes. We have to recycle more. The days of throwing things in a

hole in the ground have passed and the council cannot afford the fines

they could get from the Welsh Government and we don't want the

unpleasantness of putting things in the whole of the ground. Gwynedd is

the first council in Wales to introduce a three weekly collection.

Across Wales there are limits on the amount of waste people can leave.

There's also a two bag limit per fortnight in Monmouthshire and

Cardiff Council is considering the introduction of a monthly refuse

collection. In Gwynedd, there will still be weekly recycling and food

waste collections as well as bigger bins for households of six or more

people. A more frequent service will be provided to remove disposable

nappies too. But will it persuade people to recycle more? I am very

good at recycling. I've got two boxes and the little brown bin for

the household waste. I only have space in my green bin the end of the

fortnight so the three weeks will make any difference. I don't think a

three weekly collection is often enough. They should stay and that --

try and stick to a fortnight. People put them out too early and that

causes problems with signals. I would not be happy with it. A feast

for the seagulls may be in store when the changes are rolled out

across Gwynedd from this October. But the council says the annual

saving of ?350,000 will mean fewer cuts elsewhere. It's urging all

residents not to throw out its new plans.

Further East in Wrexham, a group of councillors 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

?300,000 this year. 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. The mine manager

Malcolm Fyfield denies four counts of manslaughter through gross

negligence and the mine operators also deny four counts of corporate

manslaughter. He's one of the best known celebrity

chefs in Wales, but today Stephen Terry, owner of The Hardwick in

Abergavenny, found himself defending allegations of sexual discrimination

at his restaurant. In an employment tribunal in Cardiff, a trainee chef

claimed she was targeted because she was the only woman in the kitchen.

Rhodri Lewis listened to the evidence.

In the high pressure world of TV chefs, reputation is everything.

Stephen Terry is one of the best. He's a familiar face to viewers of a

range of TV cookery programmes, including the BBC's Great British

Menu. He's also the owner and head chef at The Hardwick restaurant near

Abergavenny. But now, the reputation of some of his staff is being called

into question after a young trainee chef claimed sexual discrimination

during the three months she worked there. Chloe Maisey says her

backside was slapped, teased about her body, and as the only woman in

the kitchen, had to change in front of her colleagues while they watched

her. Stephen Terry said she had not been

treated unfairly and most of the incidents had not happened and any

that had could be put down to incidences of banter in a busy

kitchen where people work long hours and said no allegations were brought

to his attention. She also claimed to have been put in the restaurant's

freezer and the lid closed on top of her. At this afternoon's tribunal,

another chef at The Hardwick admitted he'd done this when she'd

complained of feeling hot, but he denied closing the lid. He said he

hadn't thought what he'd done had upset her. Mr Terry denied she had

been targeted and said he was impressed with her work and it was

of an exceptional standard. The hearing continues.

Tens of thousands of people in Wales live with illnesses like asthma and

emphysema. Now there are plans to reduce the number of patients

suffering from lung disease. Steffan Messenger has been finding out more.

A shopping trip to Cardiff as a retreat for 66-year-old Derek

Cummings who has had chronic pulmonary disease or COPD for the

last 27 years. I now have to use oxygen and a mobility scooter. I

can't walk very far. I used to be an avid walker up in the Brecon Beacons

but now all that is gone. Then disease affects one in seven people

in Wales and cause one in seven deaths. To get a better idea of what

it's like to live with a lung condition I am trying on a special

simulator vest. It is fitted with which to put pressure on my chest

and a mask makes it harder to breathe. That is really difficult.

Just walking those few steps up a much longer than it would normally.

It is tight around your chest and you are feeling breathless

constantly. I cant believe this is what life is like for tens of

thousands of people. I would not last ten minutes in this soup. It is

to help patients like Derek that the Welsh Government launched a new

action plan today to tackle lung disease in Wales. Over the next

three years health boards will try and get better access to treatment

for patients. Motivation also occurs once the disease is established and

the trick is to prevent these issues in the first place. The government

will use an of measures to see whether its plans are successful. It

wants to see the number of smokers coming down, they should be related

-- of reduction in cases of COPD as well as an schedule hospital

admissions for some respiratory illnesses. For Derek that is welcome

news. I think it will help a lot. We suffer from an invisible illness.

You cannot see the lungs, you can't see the reason I am travelling

around in a scooter. These plans could help transform the lives of

tens of thousands of people according to the Welsh Government

but they will also present a big challenge for the health service.

Local health boards will have to work out how they will meet the

government 's objectives and publish their own plans over the next

humans. -- the next few months. Much more to come before 7.00pm:

Best Behaviour. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in Pembrokeshire.

All the coverage of the Royal Tour. And the girl who escaped the Greek

civil war and who has 30 gold medals to her name. High hopes for the

extraordinary Rosa Crean, representing Wales at the

Commonwealth Games. Manufacturing has emerged as the

winner in the latest report on the state of our economy. Today's

figures for GDP, the value of the goods and service we produce, show

that our economy has grown by 0.8% in the last three months and

manufacturing has lead the way. Our economics correspondent Sarah

Dickins reports. Shoppers are buying kitchens again.

When the financial crisis hit, this fact police orders plummet. A

painful decision for a family owned firm set up in the 70s. Now they

have taken on 25 new employees and the business has grown by 17%. In

England where we sell our brand, we are currently running at 52% and the

growth is coming in month after month. Dig down through the figures

and there's a strong message that the growth in manufacturing is

gaining pace and this factory is part of that story. It's good news

for Wales as manufacturing plays a stronger part in our economy than it

is in the UK as a whole. But across the whole economy today's figures

are not as good as had been hoped. Manufacturing has grown by 1.3%. The

largest sector, services, is up 0.9%. That includes restaurants and

insurers firms. Construction is up zero x 3%. Agriculture, mining and

quarrying is down 0.7%. What is significant is whether people feel

more confident. Most are so poorer than in 2008 because wages have not

kept up with the cost of living. It has been difficult the last five

years but the feel-good factor is going back and we are seeing the

effects you on the shop floor. If people feel more secure they will

spend more. The people I speak to and my friends, you see more people

on the high Street. You go into Cardiff and you don't think that is

a recession with the amount of shopping bags people are carrying.

This company and its 150 employees seems to believe the growth in

business will continue. They sell to builders and people doing up their

homes but that in itself presents a challenge. Product development is

crucial. Our industry is a fashion industry. We always need to be

moving with the times. That is vital. While this company is looking

ahead there are others who question the foundations of the economic

growth and reminders that this is the slowest recovery in history and

we have still not got back to where we were before the financial crisis

six years ago. 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. Our reporter Abigail Neil has been following

their day. The Royal visit showcased

Pembrokeshire at its best today because it is bathed in beautiful

weather for the start of the royal tour. The Queen and the Duke of

Edinburgh managed five engagements in all around the county today, each

one is lined with roads of well-wishers. The crowds cheer I

used to the annual visit of Prince Charles and the Duchess of

Cornwall, visit by the Queen herself is more of a rarity.

Spring, sunshine and smiles met the royal couple as they arrived in

temperature by Royal train this morning. -- in Pembrokeshire. The

crowds continued throughout the day. Even the counties own breed of Corby

came up to wish her Majesty well. She pointed at them so that was

lovely. It made my day. The Queen was sure to open the new Heritage

Centre and unveil a timeline wall marking 200 years of military and

naval history in the town. It is a very unique town. It is only 200

years old. It has a strong service base and is still very pro services

and it's very important for the Queen to visit. Pembroke Dock has a

particular historical significance. The Queen and the Duke first visited

in 1955 during the beginning of her reign and back then the military

presence there was much more in evidence. The royal couple were

given an aerial salute. Today's visit was more low-key showcasing

the small industries this part of Wales is now proud of. There was a

factory tour near Narberth, a family run business which has been bottling

spring water for more than 20 years. It is most -- the most experience --

the most amazing experience. I can't describe seeing the Queen trailing

up to the business you started with your mother and father. It was

amazing. And a visit to Wales' only horse Hospital. A personal passion

for her Majesty, she made time to visit all the patients. Her passion

is horses and it shines through. She made the effort to touch the horse

and put her hands on it and get the feel of every single patient.

Hundreds of schoolchildren will have missed lessons today tonight they

have a more memorable story to tell of the day the Queen came to their

town. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh

move on South now for tomorrow. They will be visiting a gift wrapping

company before moving on to meet staff and students at the

International School at Atlantic College in the Vale of Glamorgan.

From here in Pembrokeshire tonight it is a fond farewell.

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. Now, it's only his first season

since making the world record breaking move to Real Madrid, but

Gareth Bale could reach his first ever Champions League final tonight.

Real lead the current European champions Bayern Munich 1-0 after

the first leg of their semifinal in Spain last week. We have still got a

very hard game here against Bayern Munich to come. It is going to be a

difficult game. I don't think the score mixed too much difference. We

are looking forward to it but we know it's going to be a difficult

game. Cricket and gave three of Glamorgan 's match against

Leicestershire, and the home side a 77 for one with a lead of 218 with

nine wickets remaining. Glamorgan finished their first innings 359 all

out. At the World Snooker Championships,

Wales' Dominic Dale is aiming to reach the semi-finals for the first

time. His quarter final match against last year's finalist, Barry

Hawkins, resumes at 7.00pm. At the end of the first session, the score

was 6-2 to Hawkins. The first to 13 wins.

More than 200 Welsh athletes will be heading to Glasgow this summer to

compete in the Commonwealth Games. But few will have such an incredible

life story as 72-year-old Rosa Crean. As a child, she was abducted

from her family during the Greek Civil War and sent to an orphanage

in Poland. When she settled in Wales, Rosa, who's partially

sighted, took up bowls and went on to win Paralympic gold. Carwyn Jones

caught up with her. For Rosa Crean, success came late in

life. She was already in her 50s when she first tried her hand at

bowls. In those days, she admits she was a nervous and reluctant player.

Since then she's won no fewer than 30 gold medals and as the

Commonwealth Games loom large, those nerves seem to disappeared

altogether. Actually, I feel great. I am not anxious. I am aiming for

the gold. Rosa's home is literally filled floor to ceiling with

trophies and medals. Her most cherished is the Paralympic gold she

won at the '96 Games in Atlanta. Although a genetic condition left

her partially sighted from birth, she's thrown herself into sport with

a zeal only matched by her drive to beat the odds. And that stems from

her childhood. Attacks spread to within 12 miles of Athens. Rosa was

born in Greece where her family was caught up in the Civil War during

the late 1940s. As a little girl she was abducted by communist troops,

separated from her parents and sent to an orphanage in Poland. This was

the building in which she spent her childhood, under the strictest of

regimes. People won't talk to you. For months, Thursdays, you are

isolated, ignored. Rosa was a teenager before she was allowed to

leave the orphanage. She eventually settled in Cardiff in the 1960s and

made the city her home. With a grown up family, she took up lawn bowls in

1991 as a way of getting out of the house and meeting people. Four years

later, she'd triumphed in the World Championships and two decades of

sporting success were to follow. It is a skilful game for the cited but

for the visually impaired, I think they are even more skilful than the

cited players. They are having to be told that the jack is a certain

distance from them and they have to work it out and be able to adjust to

it. Rosa is now 72-years-old, so the Commonwealth Games may be her last

major competition. But she doesn't want to commit to retirement just

yet. After all, this is one champion who's lived her life defying the

odds. Good luck to her. Let's hope the sun

shines for her bowling. How's the weather tonight? Derek is on the BBC

roof. I haven't been attacked by a seagull

yet, Jamie. There are a few clouds this evening. Some sunshine as well

and warm with a high of 18C in Denbighshire. Most of the country

dry. Just one or two showers in the south and west. There's more dry

weather to come tomorrow but it won't stay dry everywhere. There are

showers in the forecast. May will start unsettled but with a big

improvement later in the week. This evening, any isolated showers will

slowly die away. Overnight, dry with mist and fog patches. Perhaps some

sea fog over Cardigan Bay. Temperatures dropping to around 7C

or 8C. Tomorrow, a grey start in places. Mist and fog patches will

soon lift. It will brighten-up. Some sunshine but a few showers will

break out in Powys and the north. These could be heavy with thunder.

While in the south and south west, some showery rain is expected later

in the afternoon. Top temperature around 16C. Cooler on some coasts

and in Pembrokeshire, with light winds. In Denbighshire tomorrow, the

morning will be dry. A little sunshine but heavy showers are

expected in the afternoon. A warm 16C in Llangollen. Tomorrow evening

and overnight, showers and rain will spread across the country. Some low

cloud, mist forming and a fairly mild night. Thursday, not great.

Plenty of cloud, showers and rain. Heavy in places with a risk of

thunder. Some dry, brighter spells as well. Cooler too. Friday's chart

shows high pressure over Scotland and that is heading our way bringing

cooler, drier air with it. So Friday a much better day. Brighter with

some sunshine. Cloud will build-up but it will stay dry. Feeling cooler

with a breeze. 12C to 14C. As for the outlook, Saturday nice and dry

with sunny spells. Chilly at night with ground frost. Sunday and bank

holiday Monday should be dry as well thanks to high pressure and becoming

warmer. So some sunshine tomorrow. A few

showers as well. More rain and heavy showers on Thursday followed by a

dry and cooler end to the week. Tonight 's headlines from the BBC.

Unions are warning of strike action and read that some council workers

in Wales are facing a pay freeze when all other local authorities are

giving their staff pay rises. The gent council says the move will

protect jobs and services. Union officials have been meeting council

bosses this evening urging them to change their minds.

And they will be changes to bin collections in Gwynedd from

October. The council has become the first in Wales to approve refuse

collections once every three weeks. The decision was prompted by

increasing fines for authorities who do not meet landfill targets.

I'll have an update for you here at 8.00pm and again after the BBC news

at 10.00pm. From all of us on the programme, good evening.