…in brief

This week’s news in brief

Police deal rejected

Rank-and-file police officers have rejected a new pay deal which was seen as
central to Home Office reform plans. The Police Federation said that in a
ballot of 126,000 rank-and-file officers, 91 per cent rejected the deal. Some
37 per cent of officers cited Home Secretary David Blunkett’s plan to reduce
overtime pay as the reason.  www.polfed.org

Manufacturing upturn

The CBI claims the squeeze on the manufacturing sector output looks set to
ease after six months of losses. Its Industry Trends Survey for February found
28 per cent of manufacturers expect output volumes to be up over the next four
months, while 27 per cent say volumes will fall. The 1 per cent is the first
positive balance since July.  www.cbi.org.uk

Public sector plea

Tony Blair has been warned that criticism from politicians is undermining
recruitment and damaging morale in the public sector. In an open letter to
Blair, public sector leaders have asked the Prime Minister to launch a campaign
to raise awareness of their complex and responsible jobs.  www.pm.gov.uk

EU limits noise level

The Engineering Employers’ Federation has welcomed limits introduced to
protect employees from noise at work, to be adopted as part of a new EU
directive. The European Parliament had threatened to impose limits in excess of
those accepted by the Health & Safety Executive, but has now agreed a
compromise acceptable to UK employers.  www.eef.org.uk

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Heritage walk-out

Staff at English Heritage have voted to strike over pay and conditions,
following the revelation that £500,000 of the payroll budget is to be spent on
advertising. Members of the Prospect union voted overwhelmingly in favour of a
one-day strike on 11 March followed by a series of days where members will not
work beyond their contracted hours. Almost 77 per cent voted to strike and
nearly 90 per cent backed some form of industrial action.   www.prospect.org.uk