25/05/2017 Channel Islands News

No more negotiations - taxi drivers go on strike

after Minster says they'll have to put up with a new pay deal.

We do not take this lightly, this is out of sheer anger and frustration

that we are not being listened to. And when the door shuts in your

face, you have not got much of a recourse.

Good evening and welcome to the late news from BBC Channel Islands,

Could plans for an international university boost Guernsey's economy?

Rank taxi drivers in Jersey have gone on strike today over a pay deal

which they say was forced onto them by the Infrastructure Minister.

He says the changes are fair, but the head of the Taxi Drivers

Association says if talks aren't reopened, they may escalate

Getting people from A to B when the taxi ranks are empty.

More buses, private cabs, and extra staff have been brought

in while taxi drivers strike over a pay deal.

Earlier this week, infrastructure dept announced private hire cabs

and public rank taxis on the same tariff, to make it easier

Fares are to go up by nearly 5% but extra fees chargeable

by rank taxis are to be scrapped.

Many drivers are unhappy at changes.

The drivers' representative says the one-tier system

won't work, and that - with the extras scrapped -

He feels the Minister isn't listening.

We feel the minister's policies are what he set out two years ago,

The process he's gone through was just to keep us quiet.

All along he fully intended to have it his way

But the Minister says he's done what he can to negotiate.

A few weeks ago they effectively did a u-turn on where we thought

we were, at the end of the day I have to act in the public's best

interest, so we couldn't delay bringing in the revised tariffs

and reform that we wished to make to make the service

Nevertheless, the upshot today is a shortage of taxis

and passengers left waiting - with mixed feelings.

If they are not getting what they want, go on strike. I do not think

today is a good idea. They have got today is a good idea. They have got

holiday-makers coming over. They need to do what they need to

do, if they are unhappy show that. And they may soon be

showing that more strongly. Drivers on strike today say

we could see scenes like this again, protest grinding traffic to a halt,

if the Minister doesn't Luxmy Gopal, Channel

Islands News, Jersey. Emergency services were called

to a fire today near 25 firefighters used foam jets

to tackle the fire which caused the evacuation of the power station

and bus depot. It started in an oil

store at La Collette. One worker was taken

to hospital with minor burns. You have to appreciate we are in the

Deal area so that as an extra risk that we had to take into

consideration. -- fuel. I hate and risk in this area. Luckily enough,

if there was to be a fire in this area, it was to be in such a space

that did not involve the petroleum distributors and it did not affect

any of those. A police investigation's under way

after a body was found in the sea off Guernsey and brought ashore

by the lifeboat. It was spotted in the sea

by a passing French yacht off the island's south western coastline

at nine o'clock this morning. The Channel Islands Air Search

aircraft located the body after searching an area around ten

miles off the Hanois. Three men have been sentenced

at Jersey's Royal Court after pleading guilty to a number

of drugs offences 52-year-old Darryn Rae,

who lives in the UK, 35-year-old Antonio Spinola

from St Helier and 65-year-old Michael Palmer from St Saviour

were jailed for between three The offences all happened while Rae

and Spinola were under police Officers saw Rae depositing cash

in two separate bank accounts Then when they searched Spinola's

flat they found cannabis resin, ecstacy tablets and a suitcase

with ?30,000 cash and During the search, a third man,

Michael Palmer arrived Officers found cash

in his car and more cash When questioned by police,

Spinola denied supplying drugs but admitted to playing a role

namely as banker. He said Rae had asked him to do

a few bits and pieces and he told officers,

"I just turned a blind eye." Rae's defence advocate said he'd

borrowed money to set up his own business and was pressed

into the activity to repay the debt. When he was arrested,

he claimed that at the time At sentencing today

Commissioner Julian Clyde-Smith said there wouldn't be drug traffickers

without money launderers. Spinola, three years,

nine months It's thought plans for

an international university based in Guernsey could be developed

within the next few years. The politician behind it,

who's keen to distance his own plans from recent failed attempts to do

something similar, says the States-controlled institution

would attract students It wasn't that long ago

that we all got excited about the prospect of a Channel

Islands University - linked to the prestigious

Russell Group which includes the likes of Oxford,

Cambridge and Bristol. But four years on and there's

still no sign of anything here - In fact, much like these buildings,

that whole scheme has But a long-time supporter

of the principle of an on-island university is looking for funding

from Economic Development to test If that's all approved,

we'll go ahead and complete the study

that we're undertaking. Certainly we'll complete that this

year and then we'll have a report to Policy and Resources who can then

decide whether to take He says rather than

the philanthropic, not-for-profit model previously discussed,

this would instead be aimed at bringing in international

students and providing a much needed Crucially though it's not

aimed at islanders - something that's angered some local

students who want more support It costs 15 grand

because I'm classed as international to go to England and go to a drama

school, whereas it would cost so much less if it was

on the island, I could stay at home, The new university would sit

alongside the College of FE, the GTA University Centre and other

on-island training facilities but it's not a project

the Education Committee's been involved in, which itself raises

questions about how joined up the provision of education

in Guernsey really is. But it could, if successful,

at least have a role in serving the economy and enhancing

the island's reputation overseas. Mark Inchley, BBC

Channel Islands News. The States of Alderney have

withdrawn the licence allowing Alderney Renewable Energy to develop

tidal power in its waters. The agreement's been terminated over

claims the company has failed As well as developing tidal power,

ARE is instrumental in multi-million pound plans

for a controversial new electricity link connecting the island

to France and Britain. the state of Alderney pot control

and we look forward to being able to relay that sea bed to the economic

advantage of Albany. -- Alderney. ARE said it was disappointed

with the termination of its agreement, saying claims made

in the States are inaccurate. It adds it wants to progress

with its plans for tidal development The Channel Islands

are in 27th position on the fifth day of competition

at the World Surfing Competing as the Channel Islands

for the first time, the team are ahead of the likes of Ireland,

Fiji and Russia. While Josh Evans made history

by booking a place in the third Your weather forecast

now with David Braine. Thank you. Hello, good evening, more

sunshine to enjoy for tomorrow. Strong sunshine at that. Fine and

dry, with plenty of sunshine and feeling very warm. If anything,

feeling hot tomorrow, particularly for the two larger islands.

Unusually, some very strong sunshine, some high UV, I'm usually

so, seven or eight the UV level for tomorrow, enjoy, the sun is

critically strong, be careful. A big area of high bemoaning keeping a

settled that there is a layer of cloud, that is a weather front that

will creep close over the next 24 hours. By the time we get to the

middle of the day tomorrow, it is across the western side of Ireland

and then crossing us overnight and into Saturday. It will have some

showers on it, bumping into that very warm air, there is a good

chance those showers could turn to be thundery in the early hours of

Saturday morning. High pressure starts to come back as we head into

the body of the weekend. A very warm night, a keen easterly wind that

will gradually drop in temperatures no lower than 16 Celsius. Tomorrow,

expect to have a very warm, is not hot feeling day, one wind from the

east and almost unbroken sunshine from dawn to dusk, the sunshine a

bit hazy late in the day. 21 or 22 on the coast. The two larger

islands, 25, possibly 26 Celsius. He done the risk of thunder across

northern parts of Spain and Portugal. Hot weather for the middle

of France and that warm weather has travelled over a good part of

northern Europe as well. Most of us things pretty good temperatures over

the next few days. The showers, they happen overnight into Saturday and a

bit fresher as we head into the weekend. That is all from me. Have a

good night. That's your news this Thursday

evening, BBC Radio Guernsey and Jersey will be first

with your local news, weather and travel from

six tomorrow morning. Alison's back at 6.30

tomorrow evening. You would expect strong sunshine at

this time of year, but it has been stronger than you would normally

expect, and that continues tomorrow. It has been the hottest day of the

year so far. I suspect we might beat those temperatures tomorrow. We have

had made 20s for many, barely a cloud in the sky. This is how it

looked in Cornwall this afternoon, and a beautiful sunset as well. We

have clear skies overnight, but it will not be cold. We could be

looking at a near record-breaking night