:00:06. > :00:08.Hello, welcome to Midlands Today with Suzanne Virdee and Nick Owen.
:00:08. > :00:16.The headlines tonight: Protect our pensions - thousands of strikers
:00:16. > :00:20.converge on Birmingham on a day of protest. Do you want to see
:00:20. > :00:23.teachers aged 68 calling on the nursery floor with children?
:00:23. > :00:29.670 shut but the Prime Minister praises the school where teachers
:00:29. > :00:31.refused to go on strike. They took their decision that on this
:00:31. > :00:34.occasion, they would put the children and families' interests
:00:34. > :00:37.first. The fans have nothing to worry
:00:37. > :00:39.about say officials - after Birmingham City owner Carson Yeung
:00:39. > :00:42.is charged with five counts of money laundering.
:00:43. > :00:52.And defeat at the high court for a soldier's mother who says the
:00:53. > :00:57.
:00:57. > :00:59.Good evening, welcome to Thursday's Midlands Today from the BBC.
:01:00. > :01:03.Tonight, a massive show of defiance as thousands of public sector
:01:03. > :01:06.workers take to the streets in protest.
:01:06. > :01:10.Unions claimed 4,000 people took part in a rally and march in
:01:10. > :01:13.Birmingham City Centre and there were other events across our region.
:01:13. > :01:16.It meant more than 670 schools were shuts and hundreds more partially
:01:16. > :01:19.closed. Our political reporter Susana
:01:19. > :01:29.Mendonca reports now on the day teachers and civil servants vowed
:01:29. > :01:30.
:01:30. > :01:34.to protect their pensions. This is what angry public sector
:01:34. > :01:38.workers look like. Thousands of teachers and civil servants took
:01:38. > :01:43.over Birmingham's Victoria Square in this, their first face-off with
:01:43. > :01:48.a government, over their pensions. Do you really want to see children
:01:48. > :01:53.-- teachers aged 68 calling on the nursery floor with children? Am I
:01:53. > :01:57.going to have my hips and knees replaced? I think not. Important
:01:57. > :02:00.people in sectors like police, education, health care, they are
:02:00. > :02:05.being let down. For the future of teaching is at stake because how on
:02:05. > :02:08.earth are we going to attract top- quality graduates with a poxy
:02:09. > :02:11.pension scheme? Then they marched through the city in protest at
:02:11. > :02:16.plans that would see them pay more into their pensions, work for
:02:16. > :02:19.longer and have them based on a career average instead of the more
:02:19. > :02:23.generous final-salary schemes. With so many teachers taking action,
:02:23. > :02:27.schools were left empty. It was a price that those here felt had to
:02:27. > :02:31.be paid. We apologise to the parents for the destruction. It is
:02:31. > :02:34.not our aim to disrupt parents in these matters. What we think is
:02:35. > :02:38.that if we let the government get away with it this wholly
:02:38. > :02:42.unjustified attack on our pension scheme, it will damage our
:02:42. > :02:45.profession, damage teacher recruitment and retention and so
:02:45. > :02:48.there will be more teacher shortages, a bigger turnover, and
:02:49. > :02:52.it will be worse for an education in the long run. The government
:02:52. > :02:55.says its plans are fair and essential and instead of striking
:02:55. > :02:59.today, the unions should be getting around the table and negotiating.
:02:59. > :03:02.But people who have turned up here in Birmingham city centre did not
:03:02. > :03:09.believe them and protests like this have been happening not just here,
:03:09. > :03:15.but across the West Midlands. In Telford, it was the Savoy service
:03:15. > :03:19.union that took centre-stage as 400 civilian defence workers marched.
:03:19. > :03:23.The this is not just civil servants worrying about minor changes to
:03:23. > :03:28.their terms and conditions. We are talking about people on ordinary
:03:28. > :03:31.salaries and ordinary wages losing tens of thousands of pounds and in
:03:31. > :03:36.some cases hundreds of thousands of pounds over the course of their
:03:36. > :03:40.lifetime. In Stoke-on-Trent, people working in Jobcentres, benefit
:03:40. > :03:46.offices and courts were among those joining the demonstration. The it
:03:46. > :03:50.has been a show of the Solidarity for all public sector workers
:03:50. > :03:54.across the country and it is certainly something that is for
:03:54. > :03:58.workers to be proud of in Stoke-on- Trent and Staffordshire. It has
:03:58. > :04:03.given a lot of heart as well to public sector workers, so that they
:04:03. > :04:08.can fight for better pensions in the future. I did want my child to
:04:08. > :04:12.be taught by someone who is 68... In Worcester, teachers piled into
:04:12. > :04:17.St Peter's Church for their protest. Among them were members who had
:04:17. > :04:21.never been on strike before. This was the first time in its 110 --
:04:21. > :04:26.127 year history that they are taking this kind of action. This
:04:26. > :04:30.union is a moderate union and we do not take strike action very often.
:04:30. > :04:34.This is an issue that we think is of such major importance that we
:04:34. > :04:38.feel we have no alternative but to take strike action. The government
:04:38. > :04:42.is urging unions to continue with negotiations but the unions are
:04:42. > :04:48.promising more scenes like this in the coming months unless their
:04:48. > :04:54.demands are met. The And Susana's in the centre of
:04:54. > :04:57.Birmingham now. Susanna, how do the unions think the day has gone?
:04:57. > :05:01.All of the unions I've been speaking to today feel that it was
:05:01. > :05:06.quite a successful day. It's quiet now but you saw the busy pictures
:05:06. > :05:09.earlier on. They tell me that around 4000 people attended. It was
:05:09. > :05:13.difficult to tell what the numbers are actually worth. The police told
:05:13. > :05:17.us it was in the thousands. That is a lot less than the unions were
:05:17. > :05:22.telling me yesterday. They had said it would be 10,000. There certainly
:05:22. > :05:26.were not that a number of people here. I am joined by Doug Morgan
:05:26. > :05:30.from the nut. A lower turnout in Birmingham than the unions were
:05:30. > :05:33.telling us yesterday. We were always going to talking up what we
:05:33. > :05:38.were doing. We were pleased that we have thousands of public sector
:05:38. > :05:42.workers who stood up for public services today, who said our
:05:42. > :05:46.pensions should be protected, who said our schools and our council
:05:46. > :05:50.services should be protected. We thought it was a good event. It is
:05:50. > :05:53.the children of the parents of children who have suffered as a
:05:53. > :05:57.result of your members walking out. We had hundreds of schools closed
:05:57. > :06:02.across the Midlands. What can you say to those people to retain their
:06:02. > :06:07.support? We had lots of public support. Many parents are on the
:06:07. > :06:11.demo today. There will be days of disruption but it is to stop
:06:11. > :06:14.decades of destruction. Without us taking action, there will be no
:06:14. > :06:20.jobs in the future for many people. There will be no pensions for their
:06:20. > :06:24.kids. We think we were right to do what we did. The unions are saying
:06:24. > :06:29.that unless the Government meets their demands, we will see more
:06:29. > :06:32.events like we saw today in the coming months.
:06:32. > :06:35.So hundreds of classrooms were empty today, but one school in
:06:35. > :06:38.Worcestershire won praise from the Prime Minister for staying open.
:06:38. > :06:40.David Cameron paid tribute to teachers at Vaynor First School in
:06:40. > :06:47.Redditch, where the headteacher said staff were putting their
:06:47. > :06:50.pupils first. Cath Mackie reports. It's 8.30am and normally the
:06:50. > :06:53.arrival of children at Vaynor First school in Redditch wouldn't be
:06:53. > :06:56.making the news today though is different. Despite some teachers
:06:56. > :07:03.here belonging to the unions which are on strike. They've come in and
:07:03. > :07:05.the school's staying open. They took the decision that on this
:07:05. > :07:09.occasion they would put the children and families' interests
:07:09. > :07:14.first. However they fully support their colleagues who have strike.
:07:14. > :07:20.It is always a hard decision. that decision was welcome news to
:07:20. > :07:25.parents. I support the strike in the that the pensions are really
:07:25. > :07:28.important to them but also, the kids need to go to school. It's
:07:28. > :07:34.great because you don't have to find childcare or anything like
:07:34. > :07:37.that but I believe that they should have gone on strike. And doubtless
:07:37. > :07:44.never before has an ordinary schoolday won such political praise
:07:44. > :07:47.as happened in the House of commons yesterday. What does my right
:07:47. > :07:51.honourable friend say to the teachers at a school in my
:07:51. > :07:54.constituency who are pressing the welfare of the children first by
:07:54. > :07:57.not striking tomorrow? A I would congratulate them for doing the
:07:57. > :08:01.right thing and keeping their school open. I don't believe there
:08:01. > :08:06.is any case for industrial action tomorrow, not least because talks
:08:06. > :08:09.are still ongoing. While it's a day of protest for many teachers across
:08:09. > :08:12.the Midlands, here the school day is well underway here. But this
:08:12. > :08:18.public sector pay and pensions dispute is far from over and the
:08:18. > :08:22.school can't rule out taking future strike action. A I would have to
:08:22. > :08:25.weigh up the pros and cons and see what came out of negotiations
:08:25. > :08:29.because I'm due to retire and are not sure whether I'm going to be
:08:29. > :08:33.able to. That is a worry. A we are living longer, the money is not
:08:33. > :08:37.there, something needs to be done. Don't teachers have to do what
:08:37. > :08:41.everybody else is having to do and take their hit of the cuts? It is
:08:41. > :08:46.about the amount of money that is already in the pot. The indications
:08:46. > :08:51.are there is sufficient there, with the agreement have already made, to
:08:51. > :08:56.actually sustain our pensions to the question is, why is there for
:08:56. > :08:59.need for this action by the government? The Tomorrow all
:08:59. > :09:02.teachers will be back at work but with the Government and unions
:09:02. > :09:04.still at loggerheads, the question is, for how long?
:09:05. > :09:07.Today's strike action also involved Birmingham City Council workers,
:09:08. > :09:10.but that's all to do with a separate issue, a dispute over
:09:10. > :09:13.changes to their contracts. Workers claim carers and other workers face
:09:14. > :09:19.losing a third of their salaries. The city council said only 10% of
:09:19. > :09:21.their workforce went on strike, and disruption was minimal. But some
:09:21. > :09:27.severely disabled people feel they've been let down by the
:09:27. > :09:30.industrial action. Bob Hockenhull reports.
:09:30. > :09:35.Valerie has a severely disabled 46- year-old son who needs two home
:09:35. > :09:41.care visits a day. She doesn't want us to identify him. But she says
:09:41. > :09:48.today's strike meant she's had to travel 35 miles to look after him.
:09:48. > :09:51.He wouldn't have had a carer. Hopefully someone would have come
:09:51. > :09:54.to cover him for the morning but he would not have had anybody for his
:09:54. > :10:01.lunch call, he would have missed out on his medication which is
:10:01. > :10:04.vital. On a picket line in Birmingham this morning, we showed
:10:04. > :10:06.striking carers an e-mail Valerie sent to Midlands Today voicing her
:10:06. > :10:12.concerns. Some admitted they'd taken today's action with heavy
:10:12. > :10:18.hearts. It is not like we are happy with what we are doing. It is our
:10:18. > :10:21.last choice. This morning, I was in two minds. I thought we are
:10:21. > :10:27.thinking about the residents put up the same time, we have to think
:10:27. > :10:30.about our livelihoods as well. Labour leader Ed Miliband may have
:10:30. > :10:35.spoken out against today's national strikes. But that didn't stop one
:10:35. > :10:39.of his MPs visiting this picket line to lend his support. I know
:10:39. > :10:44.one woman who gives outstanding service to the elderly and disabled.
:10:44. > :10:48.She earns �14,000 a year. Her pay is going to be cut by �4,000. That
:10:48. > :10:51.is wrong. The many other workers here today it is the first time
:10:51. > :10:55.they've taken part in a strike. Gone are the questions they must
:10:55. > :10:57.ask now is does their action risk alienating the public? Birmingham
:10:57. > :11:01.City Council insists the new contract proposals are fair and
:11:01. > :11:09.necessary if it's to make savings. But the unions say it's simply
:11:09. > :11:12.unfair to make staff who're already on low wages work for even less.
:11:12. > :11:16.Our political editor Patrick Burn's been in Westminster for us today,
:11:16. > :11:22.gauging reaction to the strike. Let's go live to him now. Patrick,
:11:22. > :11:26.what have our MPs been saying to you then?
:11:26. > :11:30.It is a measure of how awkward this issue is in many ways for our
:11:30. > :11:35.politicians that whoever you talk to, wherever they sit in the House
:11:35. > :11:39.of Commons, you have one of those on at the one hand, on the other,
:11:39. > :11:44.kind of conversations. Yes, they understand how very strongly
:11:44. > :11:49.teachers feel about their pensions but they deplore, often in a
:11:49. > :11:52.trenchant terms, the strike. Labour, however, they are against the
:11:52. > :11:56.strike generally as well but on the other hand, they are against her by
:11:56. > :12:06.the government is handling this. What are -- what are they for, I
:12:06. > :12:06.
:12:06. > :12:12.wonder? M joined by an MP, -- I am joined by two MPs. What do you say
:12:12. > :12:16.to an official who told us that he felt duty -- teachers had a moral
:12:16. > :12:21.duty to strike against your government which has run aiding its
:12:21. > :12:24.commitment to pay decent pensions? One of the Labour pensions
:12:24. > :12:28.Secretary look into this independently, he said that the
:12:28. > :12:31.current system is untenable and it desperately needs reform. He also
:12:31. > :12:34.said that as a proportion of national earnings, pensions are
:12:35. > :12:38.going to go down over the next four years. They are not an affordable.
:12:38. > :12:42.We he said that, he is taking into account some of the changes the
:12:42. > :12:45.government has already amount so that is not a fair comparison. What
:12:45. > :12:50.I would also save is that the government is in negotiations with
:12:50. > :12:54.the TUC right now and just this week commander, Brendan Barber said
:12:54. > :12:57.the government is discussing with the TUC in good faith so it is
:12:57. > :13:01.premature. This is a complete embarrassment for a party, isn't
:13:01. > :13:07.it? You cannot condone the strike but you cannot have to join a union
:13:07. > :13:09.friends either. It is not an embarrassment because before -- the
:13:10. > :13:13.for trade unions taking part on not affiliated to the Labour Party.
:13:13. > :13:17.This is a failure on both sides. The government has mishandled this
:13:17. > :13:24.situation by trying to dictate the outcome of what is a sensitive of -
:13:24. > :13:26.- no decision on pensions. Where is this leading? I sincerely hope it
:13:26. > :13:30.is leading to a negotiated settlement. When we were in
:13:30. > :13:35.government, be negotiated very tough agreements on pensions and we
:13:35. > :13:38.did not have this kind of disruption. Where is this leading?
:13:38. > :13:43.I hope where it leads to a is a Ferez settlement, both for
:13:43. > :13:47.taxpayers, so there is a better balance between what is paid and
:13:47. > :13:54.what the taxpayer pays, and also let us recognise people are living
:13:54. > :14:04.longer so pensions need to change. Thanks, Patrick. And we'll be back
:14:04. > :14:04.
:14:04. > :14:07.Birmingham City chairman Peter Pannu insists the club's future is
:14:07. > :14:09.financially secure, despite the fact that owner Carson Yeung's been
:14:09. > :14:12.charged with five counts of money laundering, involving �57 million
:14:12. > :14:15.in his native Hong Kong. Yeung's been released on bail and Pannu's
:14:15. > :14:24.flying out to meet him. Dan Pallett's report contains some
:14:24. > :14:29.flash photography. Not the style of entrance he's been
:14:29. > :14:31.used to. Today Carson Yeung arrived at a Hong Kong Court to face five
:14:31. > :14:38.charges of money laundering. Prosecutors say it involves around
:14:38. > :14:40.�57 million passing through Mr Yeung's accounts. The 51-year-old
:14:40. > :14:46.refused to talk to reporters outside the court although his
:14:46. > :14:48.solicitor denied the charges on his behalf. Former Birmingham City
:14:48. > :14:51.chairman Vico Hui says the matter involves Yeung's personal finances
:14:51. > :15:01.and shouldn't affect Birmingham City or the parent company
:15:01. > :15:10.
:15:10. > :15:13.Carson Yeung took over at Birmingham City in October 2009.
:15:13. > :15:21.The charges relate to a period before then from 2001 to 2007, but
:15:21. > :15:25.the club say they understand if supporters have concerns. If found
:15:25. > :15:35.guilty Carson Yeung could face upto 14 years in jail and a fine of up
:15:35. > :15:38.
:15:38. > :15:42.to �400,000. He's been bailed to reappear in Court on August 11th.
:15:42. > :15:46.Worrying time for blues fans. Craig Gardner has been sold to Sunderland
:15:46. > :15:49.into the last few minutes. We're joined now by Dr John Beech, a
:15:49. > :15:56.football finance expert at Coventry University. Dr Beech, what's your
:15:56. > :16:03.verdict on today's developments? I think it is early days in what is
:16:03. > :16:07.going to be a bit of a saga. The obvious love for shows there is no
:16:08. > :16:12.direct involvement in the alleged offences because of the timing of
:16:12. > :16:16.them. Clearly there are worrying times ahead if he is found guilty
:16:16. > :16:19.and get the worst punishment. Then I think there is some cause for
:16:19. > :16:23.concern. The key word at the Mermaid is uncertainty. We really
:16:23. > :16:27.do not know which is going -- which way this is going to go.
:16:27. > :16:30.There were comforting words from the club but the place must be in
:16:30. > :16:36.turmoil. I think it must be because it is
:16:36. > :16:40.all very well saying the club is not involved, and clearly it is and,
:16:40. > :16:44.but when your own is facing serious charges like that with serious
:16:44. > :16:50.outcomes, of course it is very worrying. The timing of this
:16:50. > :16:56.probably couldn't be worse with the relegation and all the additional
:16:56. > :16:59.financial problems that that will bring. It is not good timing.
:16:59. > :17:02.Obviously he is innocent until proven guilty but they are terrible
:17:02. > :17:07.headlines for the game in general. What you think the Premier League
:17:07. > :17:11.and Football League will make of all this? I think they will be
:17:11. > :17:15.concerned because again, money laundering in football is a
:17:15. > :17:18.combination that has been highlighted about a year ago. An
:17:18. > :17:23.international report pointed out that football is particularly
:17:23. > :17:29.vulnerable to money laundering. Even the suggestion that there
:17:29. > :17:38.might be a connection is not good news. It is very part -- it is very
:17:38. > :17:41.bad. I'll fight on - the words of a mother told by the High Court in
:17:41. > :17:44.London she can't claim compensation from the government for the death
:17:44. > :17:47.of her soldier son. Sue Smith had argued the Ministry of Defence
:17:47. > :17:50.failed to provide armoured vehicles which could have saved the life of
:17:50. > :17:53.her son, Private Phillip Hewitt. But the court said a separate claim
:17:53. > :17:55.for negligence after the death of Corporal Stephen Allbutt, a father
:17:55. > :18:02.of three from Stoke-on-Trent, can proceed. Sarah Falkland was in
:18:02. > :18:05.London for the hearing. A smile in spite of everything. Sue
:18:05. > :18:09.Smith has her case struck out by the High Court today but was
:18:09. > :18:15.determined to fight on. I don't feel we've lost because we've got
:18:15. > :18:21.this far and we will just carry on. There is Europe, if we lose in the
:18:21. > :18:26.UK. We will go to Europe. Her son was blown up in a so-called snatch
:18:26. > :18:30.Land Rover in Iraq in 2005. Because he died on foreign soil and away
:18:30. > :18:33.from the British army camp, the High Court judge today ruled that
:18:33. > :18:36.her case on other grounds of the European Convention on Human Rights
:18:36. > :18:40.could not hold. All along, the Ministry of Defence has argued it
:18:40. > :18:44.has not had a duty of care under the principle of, community and its
:18:44. > :18:49.losses have claimed that in terms of defence procurement, this is a
:18:49. > :18:53.matter for politicians and commanders, not for judges. Mr
:18:53. > :18:57.Justice Owen disagreed. He'd said that in terms of duty of care, it
:18:57. > :19:01.was fair, was in the public interest and it was a matter for
:19:01. > :19:04.the courts. That means that Staffordshire widowed Debbie all
:19:04. > :19:09.but could now be in line for compensation. As a dependent, she
:19:09. > :19:14.is entitled to fight on the grounds of negligence. Her husband was
:19:14. > :19:20.killed in a friendly fire incident in a tag which did not have the
:19:20. > :19:24.right identity equipment. It will open some floodgates, which is when
:19:24. > :19:29.you do think about it. It is frightening to think what we have
:19:29. > :19:37.achieved today really. The MoD will be extremely disappointed by this
:19:37. > :19:44.judgment because it does clarify the law in a way that says that it
:19:44. > :19:47.cannot be say that the MoD has no duty of care to soldiers who they
:19:47. > :19:53.are sending the board in armed conflict. The MoD are said to be
:19:53. > :20:00.the appealing to days judging. have not got the MoD money but what
:20:00. > :20:06.I have got is that it termination - - the determination. It is only
:20:06. > :20:13.fair that people like myself and the other families could go.
:20:13. > :20:23.But -- keep going. Still to come tonight: The forecast.
:20:23. > :20:30.
:20:30. > :20:33.Is it the rise or fall of Let's go back to remain story
:20:33. > :20:35.tonight. Thousands of people protested in the centre of
:20:35. > :20:41.Birmingham this lunchtime at plans to change pensions.
:20:41. > :20:51.One of the strikers was a teacher from Warwickshire. What drove him
:20:51. > :20:54.
:20:54. > :20:59.to strike? Today, this man joined other
:20:59. > :21:08.striking teachers to hand out apples to the public. An apple.
:21:08. > :21:14.what is it so -- what is it for? For support for teachers' strike
:21:14. > :21:24.him. For the economy is in a mess and they are trying to sort it out.
:21:24. > :21:43.
:21:43. > :21:46.At least they are trying. Indi has been teaching for 12 years and
:21:46. > :21:49.earns thirty thousand pounds a year he's estimated that the pension
:21:49. > :21:53.changes will cost him an extra �100 a month and result in a smaller
:21:53. > :21:55.pension pot at the end. But the apple a day stunt didn't cure
:21:55. > :21:58.everyone today. I'm fed up of people whingeing. People need to
:21:58. > :22:00.wake up, go and get a job, get a life. Undaunted Birminghams mass
:22:00. > :22:02.rally beckoned Indi joined thousands of other public service
:22:02. > :22:06.workers demonstrating their frustration at the changes. No
:22:06. > :22:10.doubt there are people tonight who are angry that they spotted their
:22:10. > :22:14.Teachers protesting in this rally but the teachers say that they are
:22:14. > :22:17.doing it for the good of everybody's pension in the country
:22:18. > :22:22.and not just because -- not just for themselves. A pensions are
:22:22. > :22:27.important, especially if you want younger teachers to come in. People
:22:27. > :22:31.will be watching us and saying you should be at work. What did you say
:22:31. > :22:34.to them? If you are a teacher one day, we will do this for you.
:22:34. > :22:38.Traffic was brought to a standstill but onlookers admitted to having
:22:38. > :22:42.some sympathy with the demonstrators. They have got to
:22:42. > :22:49.take a stand somewhere, haven't they? We it is an inconvenience but
:22:49. > :22:54.I think it is right. We are suffering a lot of cuts because of
:22:54. > :22:58.this government. Unions say if the issue isn't resolved there'll be
:22:58. > :23:01.more strikes in the autumn when its unclear if the public support will
:23:01. > :23:06.be as strong. We've had a big reaction to the
:23:06. > :23:09.strike today on our Facebook page. Here's a taste of the comments.
:23:09. > :23:12.Chris Hughes, I'm in the private sector and haven't had a pay rise
:23:12. > :23:17.of any sort in six years. They don't know how good they have it,
:23:17. > :23:19.this public sector lot! Mark Rider says, what have the hard
:23:19. > :23:22.working backbone of the country done to cause the economic crisis?
:23:22. > :23:28.Who did cause the country's problems, and should it not be they
:23:28. > :23:30.who have to pay? Claire Pickering says, the only
:23:30. > :23:33.ones suffering in this are the children missing out on Education.
:23:33. > :23:37.Maybe you should think of another way before disrupting them. You
:23:37. > :23:42.soon moan if we take our kids out of school for a day.
:23:42. > :23:45.Alison Branch, I'm not a teacher. But fully support all our public
:23:45. > :23:50.sector workers who were shafted in the boom and are being made
:23:50. > :23:56.scapegoats in the bust. And you can read all the comments
:23:56. > :24:01.we've received on our Facebook page. So that's a brief taste of comments
:24:01. > :24:04.we've received. Let's go back now as promised to our Political Editor
:24:04. > :24:07.Patrick Burns, who's at Westminster. Patrick, some support for the
:24:07. > :24:16.strikers, but also criticism for the impact on education and a sense
:24:16. > :24:20.of welcome to the real world from those in the private sector.
:24:20. > :24:26.I think that those sentiments are broadly in line with the findings
:24:27. > :24:31.of a recent opinion poll which I've seen, showing that while most
:24:31. > :24:34.people disapprove strongly of teachers go on strike, there is a
:24:34. > :24:38.narrow majority also disapprove of the way the government is handling
:24:38. > :24:44.this. Plenty of scope there for public opinion to swing very
:24:44. > :24:48.strongly one way or the other and put a strong evidence on the unions
:24:48. > :24:50.or government negotiators. Can you see the Government and the
:24:50. > :24:53.trade unions ever reaching agreement/ compromising on this
:24:53. > :24:56.issue? You have to pick your way through
:24:56. > :25:02.the rhetoric on a strike day like this. Unions will say they've put
:25:02. > :25:08.down their marker for an autumn winter wave of strikes. All the
:25:08. > :25:16.other hand, you could say there is a counterpoint of you, where the
:25:16. > :25:21.unions have shown that relatively few people support them, they are
:25:21. > :25:24.isolated. There has been little disruption in the airports for
:25:24. > :25:29.example. Where do we go from here?
:25:29. > :25:32.Certainly for the time being, the talks go on a and the word at
:25:32. > :25:36.Westminster tonight is that in so far as most of the unions are
:25:37. > :25:40.concerned, they will persevere with that preferred route towards a
:25:40. > :25:46.negotiated settlement. More about the war of words between private
:25:46. > :25:56.dance public sector, blog -- private and public sector on my
:25:56. > :25:59.Compared to this time yesterday, it is looking much drier now. The
:25:59. > :26:01.showers were tamer too today but the chances of drier weather this
:26:01. > :26:04.weekend increase due to the dominant presence of high pressure
:26:04. > :26:10.although I wish I could say the same about amounts of sunshine.
:26:10. > :26:14.However, pleasant weather attracts high pollen counts. And there are
:26:14. > :26:21.no changes there this weekend. They've been consistently high now
:26:21. > :26:24.for some time. But yet again, we're looking at temperatures taking a
:26:24. > :26:33.tumble tonight to lows of five Celsius in remote, sheltered spots
:26:33. > :26:35.- quite cool for this time of year. Elsewhere, lows of eight or nine.
:26:35. > :26:45.And it's a clear, dry night which then translates into lots of
:26:45. > :26:48.sunshine tomorrow morning. But as promising as that looks to begin
:26:48. > :26:51.with tomorrow, that will gradually fade through the day with more
:26:51. > :26:54.cloud spreading in from the Northwest. It could just give off
:26:54. > :26:58.the odd spot of drizzle but it's a mostly dry day and feeling roughly
:26:58. > :27:01.the same with highs of 18 to 19 Celsius. And then we come onto the
:27:01. > :27:07.weekend, not only are the temperatures going to lift slightly
:27:07. > :27:09.but the night values will rise too. Not a lot of sunshine though, any
:27:09. > :27:19.cloud gets stuck under the very stagnant conditions of the high
:27:19. > :27:26.
:27:26. > :27:29.pressure and so bright rather than That's rather encouraging.