March 2007

30.3.2007 18:27
PORT TESCO GUARANTEES JOBS TO TRAINEES
Trainees attending a Port Glasgow retail course got a welcome boost when Tesco announced that they will guarantee 20 of them jobs, once their new superstore opens in the town later this year. There had been fears that locals could lose out on the employment front because the new Tesco Extra was not designated as a Regeneration Store but, after pleas from Scottish Enterprise Renfrewshire, the shopping giant relented and promised to reserve some jobs for local people.   

26.3.2007 17:48
MP ACCEPTS CHEQUE ON BEHALF OF HOSPICE MOVEMENT
Kind hearted employees at British Energy raised £200,000 for Help the Hospices during 2006/2007, after it was nominated as their charity of the year. The cheque was presented at the Scotland Office in London where Inverclyde MP and Scotland Office Minister, David Cairns, was on hand to accept it.  

14.3.2007 20:28
NEW LAW WILL GIVE HOPE TO MESOTHELIOMA SUFFERERS
Inverclyde MP David Cairns is welcoming new proposals announced by Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, John Hutton, to fast track Government compensation for everyone diagnosed with mesothelioma. Currently only people who receive Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit are eligible for state compensation under the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers Compensation) Act 1979. The new proposals will break that link.  

11.3.2007 14:49
INCREASE IN MINIMUM WAGE WILL BENEFIT THOUSANDS IN INVERLCYDE
More than 110,000 hard pressed workers across Scotland are set to benefit from an increase in the Minimum Wage announced by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, the Rt Hon Alistair Darling MP. The Minimum Wage will go up from £5.35 per hour to £5.52 per hour in October - and over 2,000 Inverclyde employees will be better off as a result.  

2.3.2007 16:35
VICTIM SUPPORT DESERVES HELP FROM INVERCLYDE COUNCIL
Inverclyde's cash strapped Victim Support has turned to local MP David Cairns to try and ensure that the funding for their vital work continues. Service Area Co-ordinator, Liz McCue, needs a crucial £5,000 grant from Inverlcyde Council if the organisation is to keep going, and she hopes that David's support will help her secure the money from the Council when their Grants Committee meets later this month.  

2.3.2007 11:28
"YOUR VOTE IS SAFER AND MORE SECURE" SAYS DAVID CAIRNS
Voting in the May elections will be safer and more secure than ever thanks to the reforms brought by the Westminster Government, so says Inverclyde MP David Cairns. Measures to safeguard postal votes and encourage people to join the electoral register were outlined during a well attended and vigorous debate in the House of Commons in which over 500 MPs voted.   

1.3.2007 09:33
MP URGES MORE INVERCLYDE SHOPS TO SELL FAIRTRADE GOODS
Inverclyde MP David Cairns is urging local shops and businesses to get behind Fairtrade Fortnight and start stocking Fairtrade goods. Fairtrade Fortnight is already well under way and runs until 11th March. David thinks now is the ideal time for businesses of all sizes to show their commitment to tackling poverty in the developing world, by offering Fairtrade goods for sale on a regular basis.  

1.3.2007 09:22
CAIRNS LAUNCHES IRISH PENSIONERS' TRAVEL SCHEME WITH IRISH PRIME MINISTER BERTIE AHEARN TD
In his capacity as Northern Ireland Transport Minister, Inverclyde MP David Cairns has launched the All Ireland Free Travel Scheme for older people, with the Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahearn TD at Connolly Station in Dublin. The Irish scheme mirrors the scheme already in place for Scottish pensioners, in that pensioners who live on the island of Ireland will be able to travel free throughout the whole island.