Latest news with #PCS
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
Mohali observes mock drill under Operation Shield
1 2 3 Mohali: As soon as an air raid siren was sounded, emergency response teams rushed to the building of BPCL's storage-cum-bottling plant of compressed LPG at Lalru on Saturday evening around 6 pm. This was an emergency scenario created by the district administration Mohali at the BPCL plant to check the preparedness of emergency response time under Operation Shield. The operation was supervised by a senior PCS officer and an ex-serviceman Anmol Singh Dhaliwal, additional deputy commissioner (rural development). He said the mock drill planned here was to simulate emergency response procedures for rescuing individuals present at the site. SDM Derabassi Amit Gupta said the drill included the Home Guards (Civil Defence), NDRF, firefighting and medical teams, and local administration. The number of stranded persons was 20, who were rescued from inside by the teams and rushed to designated health facilities by ambulances. Deputy commissioner Komal Mittal said the drill was to check the preparedness and real response time. A blackout was also planned from 8 pm to 8.30 pm as a part of this mock drill in Derabassi and Lalru towns (municipal limits), barring emergency services establishments like hospitals and nursing homes.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Gatwick strike action poses threat to start of summer holidays
British holidaymakers may face disruption ahead of summer as staff at the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) are to stage fresh strikes in a dispute over pay and conditions. Members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union based at sites including Gatwick airport will walk out on June 3, 4, 10, 11, 17 and 18, following stoppages in January and March. Pay negotiations for 2025-26 are under way, but PCS warned the gap between the two sides was 'significant'. Fran Heathcote, PCS general secretary, said: 'We're frustrated and disappointed after management imposed a 2024 pay offer without engaging in meaningful negotiations. 'The current offer – a one-off, non-consolidated payment of £1,150 – has been rejected by union members as inadequate amid rising living costs and concerns about long-term pay erosion. 'Our members deserve a fair pay rise that reflects the cost of living, restores the value of their salaries and recognises the value of their work. Instead, CAA has chosen to bypass negotiations and impose a deal, which is unacceptable to us.' A spokesman for the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said: 'We continue to engage with our PCS trade union colleagues, and after prolonged discussions it is disappointing that PCS trade union members are taking industrial action in June. 'PCS trade union members make up approximately 5 per cent of the CAA's employees and we do not anticipate any disruption to the aviation sector, or any impact on our regulatory oversight activities or other safety and security critical work, as a result of this action.' Previously in April, Unite, the union, warned of 'flight delays, cancellations, long queues at check-in and baggage delays', in Gatwick. Staff who worked for Red Handling, a firm that provides baggage handlers, check-in staff and flight dispatchers for the airlines Norwegian, Delta, TAP and Air Peace, staged the strike over the Easter weekend. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Gatwick strike action poses threat to start of summer holidays
British holidaymakers may face disruption ahead of summer as staff at the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) are to stage fresh strikes in a dispute over pay and conditions. Members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union based at sites including Gatwick airport will walk out on June 3, 4, 10, 11, 17 and 18, following stoppages in January and March. Pay negotiations for 2025-26 are under way, but PCS warned the gap between the two sides was 'significant'. Fran Heathcote, PCS general secretary, said: 'We're frustrated and disappointed after management imposed a 2024 pay offer without engaging in meaningful negotiations. 'The current offer – a one-off, non-consolidated payment of £1,150 – has been rejected by union members as inadequate amid rising living costs and concerns about long-term pay erosion. 'Our members deserve a fair pay rise that reflects the cost of living, restores the value of their salaries and recognises the value of their work. Instead, CAA has chosen to bypass negotiations and impose a deal, which is unacceptable to us.' A spokesman for the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said: 'We continue to engage with our PCS trade union colleagues, and after prolonged discussions it is disappointing that PCS trade union members are taking industrial action in June. 'PCS trade union members make up approximately 5 per cent of the CAA's employees and we do not anticipate any disruption to the aviation sector, or any impact on our regulatory oversight activities or other safety and security critical work, as a result of this action.' Previously in April, Unite, the union, warned of 'flight delays, cancellations, long queues at check-in and baggage delays', in Gatwick. Staff who worked for Red Handling, a firm that provides baggage handlers, check-in staff and flight dispatchers for the airlines Norwegian, Delta, TAP and Air Peace, staged the strike over the Easter weekend.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Pentagon targets fewer moves for troops to trim PCS costs
Military members should be moving less frequently for greater stability — and to save taxpayers' dollars, according to defense officials who have set the process in motion for those reductions. In a memo announced Wednesday, Pentagon officials ordered the military service branches to cut in half the amount of money they spend on permanent change-of-station, or PCS, moves by fiscal 2030. DOD spends about $5 billion a year on these moves, which include the physical moves of household goods as well as allowances and other entitlements related to moving. The services are required to develop plans within four months to reduce the moves, so it's not yet clear how many actual moves will be cut to achieve those savings. Officials will target 'discretionary moves,' such as PCS moves within the United States, overseas and individual service member training travel. The services are directed to reduce these discretionary move budgets by 10% in fiscal year 2027, 30% in fiscal 2028, 40% in fiscal 2029 and 50% by fiscal 2030. The reductions will be based on the fiscal 2026 budget, adjusted for inflation. 'Lower-priority PCS moves should be reduced for service members and their families seeking greater geographic stability,' wrote Jules W. Hurst II, acting undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, in the memo. The services must determine which PCS moves 'are most critical to support operational requirements and key professional development,' he wrote. About 80% of DOD PCS moves are in the discretionary category and 20% in the mandatory category, said Tim Dill, acting deputy under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, in a briefing to reporters. Reducing the frequency of moves will improve the quality of life for service members and their families, Dill said. Military families often face challenges related to making PCS moves every few years, ranging from issues with shipping their household goods to securing housing. Families also navigate disruptions in military spouses' employment, difficulty finding child care, children's school transitions and finding new providers for special needs family members. Do military families really need to move so much? Military advocates, including the nonprofit Military Family Advisory Network, have argued that the frequency of military moves must be evaluated. 'We have seen the intersection between the frequency of moves and key quality-of-life concerns ranging from food insecurity to loneliness,' said Shannon Razsadin, CEO of the nonprofit Military Family Advisory Network. 'We're encouraged by the immediate changes outlined by Secretary Hegseth,' Razsadin said, including the Pentagon's separate effort to temporarily increase the reimbursement rates for families moving themselves amid problems with the new Global Household Goods Contract. At times, Congress members have expressed interest in reducing the number of PCS moves. Various efforts within DOD have been made to study the issue, but no large-scale actions have been taken. Military officials have argued that the frequency of PCS moves is necessary to meet operational requirements and fill empty jobs. Hurst's memo also directs service officials to propose various career path changes for officers and noncommissioned officers in ways that promote geographic stability. The services are tasked with proposing changes that could allow some officers and NCOs 'to specialize in lieu of gaining generalized experience across a range of functions,' according to the memo. The services will consider how they can provide 'broadening opportunities and continuing leadership opportunities without the need for a PCS move,' Dill said. DOD isn't dictating to the services the way they should accomplish the changes, he said, and there will be room for discussion about whether the budget cuts are feasible during the time frame. 'We want them to come back and tell us if that seems like the right number for them,' Dill said. 'On top of being efficient from a fiscal perspective, the other goal of this policy … is to ensure that this works well for service members and their families.' The effort is not exclusive to service members with dependents, Dill said, and will not increase the burden on single service members. 'We understand that PCS moves affect everyone and so this is not a policy where we just think we need to take the moves away from the families and put it on someone else,' he said.
Borneo Post
4 days ago
- Politics
- Borneo Post
Anifah may contest in Bongawan if voters insist
Anifah KOTA KINABALU (May 29): Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS) president Tan Sri Anifah Aman said that he would consider contesting in the coming state election if that is the wish of the constituents in Bongawan. Speaking to The Borneo Post today, Anifah explained that his recent statement on social media was about wresting the Bongawan constituency from incumbent Dr Daud Yusof. The former Kimanis Member of Parliament said that it is PCS' aim to ensure that all Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) candidates are victorious in the election. When asked if he intends to contest in the Bongawan seat as reported by several mainstream media recently, Anifah replied,' not exactly, I want to find the suitable candidate because I know my hardcore voters when I served as the Kimanis Member of Parliament. 'So I am just helping to identify the suitable and winnable candidate,' said Anifah who had served as former Malaysia Foreign Minister. And when asked if the constituents insist that they want him to contest, Anifah replied, 'Then I will consider. The recent reports said that the PCS president made the announcement of his intention to contest the Bongawan state seat in the upcoming Sabah state election via Facebook. Anifah was quoted as saying that his decision is not aimed at merely challenging the incumbent, Dr Daud. 'I respect him as a colleague. However, the people of Bongawan want development equivalent to that of a full-fledged district. This has long been promised, and it should already have been enjoyed, but it is still not felt. 'Basic facilities such as a hospital, fire station, road connectivity, and other infrastructure are still neither planned nor championed. It remains quiet and neglected. Where is the political will that was once proclaimed?' Anifah was quoted as saying.
