Gibraltar’s representation at the Labour Party Conference continued yesterday evening with the Gibraltar Reception hosted by the Chief Minister Fabian Picardo and featuring a keynote speech by the UK Minister for Europe and the Overseas Territories Stephen Doughty MP.
The Foreign Office’s protest against the search of a Diplomat’s bag by Guardia Civil officers at the Gibraltar – Spain Frontier today has been picked up by the UK National media, with reports made in the BBC, The Independent, the Telegraph, the Guardia and the London evening Standard.
Yesterday Unite the Union, together with the Government’s Human Resources department, held a well-attended presentation on the Government’s pension scheme at the John Macintosh hall for school lunch attendants. The meeting was opened by Unite’s Government Convenor Angelique Borastero and gave the members an insight on pension options and their benefits as well as other relevant information.
The Foreign Office has described an incident last Friday in which a British Government diplomatic bag was opened and searched by Guardia Civil officers as it was being couriered across the frontier as a “serious infringement of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.”
Responding to the GSD’s statement on the Future Job Strategy and it’s high cost to the Government, No.6 has stated that the GSD’s former Vocational Training Scheme was not structured. A statement adds, ‘the useless GSD Vocational Training Scheme (VTS) which used to pay cheap labour rates of £400 or less a month up to 2011. According to the GSD this discredited scheme had resulted in 28% of those participating obtaining employment after completion. They called this 28% a huge success..’