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Residents are unhappy at the closure of their local toilets, calling the prospect “degrading”. The public toilets in Ewell Village on the outskirts of London are to be auctioned off after being closed just over a year ago. Council officials said the closures would save £21,000 per year. One of the objecting residents, Pat Thomas, said: “I am appalled and shocked that the council could think of auctioning the toilets off. It will be so degrading for people.” Tensor’s turnstiles fully integrate with our smart card and biometric access control systems giving you full jurisdiction over movement and access in and around your site. Our coin operated turnstiles – which are ideal for public toilet facilities – are equally at home with high traffic volumes or prestige access points. Available as a double half height turnstile, your throughput can be doubled whilst keeping the amount of space down to a minimum. For more information on a Tensor turnstile, barrier or gate, please contact our sales team.  

Today (May 10) hundreds of thousands are on strike over government proposals featured in the Public Service Pensions Bill detailed in the Queen’s Speech on Wednesday which seek substantially increased employee contributions. “Thursday's protest is to all intents and purposes a traditional piece of industrial action, albeit by people who cannot withdraw their labour,” was the analysis of Dominic Casciani, BBC home affairs correspondent. The government also wants to eventually replace final-salary pension schemes with less generous career-average schemes. Versatile clocking stations fitted by Tensor let workers or contractors view their hours; book their holidays and production jobs; and much, much more. The IP enabled handily-sized 240x170x55mm Tensor T32xx Time and Security Station supports Tensor’s Smart Card technology plus the renowned MiFare cards. Colour LCD with video playback and illuminated keypad for ease of text input are just some of its user-friendly features. Speaker output, mobile phone SIM card support and GPS automatic location are among the optional features of the T32xx.  

Police officers kept a close eye on proceedings at a protest surrounding the main offices of energy firm Centrica. Campaigners staged a demonstration both inside and outside the London base of Centrica – who own British Gas – over high prices. The environmental group Greenpeace shut down the offices by sealing the entrances with bills printed on wood and locked various site doors. Officers managed to maintain order at the incident so that no arrests were made. Tensor uses the latest PC technology to supply an unrivalled Visitor Management System (VMS) to suit any size of business. Unlike paper-based systems VMS provides an accurate date and time stamped audit trail of visitors and contractors; plus individualised, bar-coded passes with monitored expiry dates. It allows faster throughput of visitors at reception as well as improving security levels elsewhere as the same checking process can occur at a company gatehouse. The receptionist is notified whenever a pass is swiped that is out-of-date or has other irregularities.  

A failed theft saw a young man menacing a petrol station worker with a stun gun. However, 22-year-old Jamie Miller got away with nothing after he tried to use the weapon to steal all the contents of the cash register earlier this year. The High Court in Edinburgh heard how Miller eventually gave up after the staff member ran away from the scene of the crime. During sentencing Miller was warned he would expect a lengthy prison term. Low cost door access control is one of the security solutions available from Tensor. The T351x range of 1-4 Scanner Access Control Systems covers doors, car park barriers and turnstiles. The T3511 Low Cost 1 Scanner Controller can deal with up to 10,000 smart card holders and allows easy set-up of badge holders and security patterns. Boasting early warning LED’s, audible alerts and tamper detection, the system adheres to international security standards applicable to Access Control systems; EN50133 Parts 1, 7 and 2; GW18, PC79 and DD243I2002.  

    Some firefighters are being offered a big pay rise if they volunteer for a new shift system. The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said the offer raised issues over the welfare of firefighters and job losses. “Twenty nine per cent might sound brilliant, especially in these austere times, but it comes at a price and that is less fighters,” FBU representative John Gilliver said. However, South Yorkshire fire bosses have pledged to make efficiencies and not to make compulsory redundancies at this time.   Tensor has the ultimate in Windows based time and attendance products, from simple collection of employees' clocking data, through to job costing and extensive labour hours analysis. Our entry time and attendance system is WinTA Lite for smaller companies. Using it you can create a wide range of daily working patterns (shifts), with either fixed or flexitime rules. These can run past midnight, making night shifts simple to define. Standard reports include Weekly Clock Card, Working Time Directive Compliance and Absence Summary.

A series of depots were targeted by officers seeking illegal scrap in London on Monday and Tuesday, resulting in 10 arrests and a number of stolen cars being recovered. Also among a stack of suspected stolen objects found in the capital were many memorial plaques. Two metal cutting machines were unearthed at one business as police executed a search warrant. Both the owner of the yard and one of its employees were charged in connection with the raid. Tensor can help stem the tide in stolen metal by beefing up security at scrap yards. Tried and tested in a range of environments, automatic bollards are a trusted way to control access to private roads and restricted parking facilities. The bollards limit vehicle access to a specific location and can easily be lowered when passage is authorised, typically within three seconds. An access control device, such as a smart card, can be combined with your automatic bollards, enabling quick and easy raising and lowering of the post.

A spokeswoman clarified the position of the prime minister over a report commissioned on employment law. One of its proposals is to call for shorter periods of consultation over compulsory redundancies. The spokeswoman said of the Beecroft report: “The government's position on employment law is that it needs to support business, encourage growth, while at the same time ensuring that employees rights to work were not weakened,” adding that PM David Cameron is not tied to particular set of proposals. Tensor helps companies negotiate through the maze of employment laws with our time and attendance software which among its functions handles working regulations, including the EU Working Time Directive. The most commonly known clause within the Directive, is that which is concerned with the 48-hour working week and the opt-out associated with it. As the British and European leader in clocking systems, Tensor are consistently providing new features in our software whenever the legislation changes, thus ensuring compliance with the EU Working Time Directive.

Baroness Warsi has accused the GMB union of ruining the Jubilee weekend. The Conservative Party chairman was commenting on strike action by staff employed by airport ground service company Swissport, which includes stoppages over the Queen's Diamond Jubilee bank holiday in June. The GMB said the introduction of new rosters would lead to a reduction in baggage handlers’ incomes. A spokesperson for the airport authorities said it was disappointed but expected flights to operate as normal. Tensor has a range of clocking networks designed for large or small firms which solve any rostering, shift or working patterns problems. WinTA Enterprise for bigger companies holds details for up to 2000 employees, including a photograph of each person, if required. There are numerous extra features that can be implemented on your time and attendance system to take into account diversity with working rules between different organisations. Via the Shift Swapping function employees may have their shift for a particular day changed in advance.  

Police have warned members of the public not to approach a prisoner on the run. Eithan Teanby was on a weekend release from a Lincolnshire jail and there are fears because he is currently on medication. Det Insp John Symes said Mr Teanby’s family were worried, and added: “We are growing concerned. My understanding is that Mr Teanby is currently taking prescription medication and we have concerns that he may not have access to his required dosage.” Using Prison Pass from Tensor, HM Prison staff can rely on receiving a simple to use, highly secure way of monitoring your prison visitors. Lists of banned individuals are maintained and updated in real time by the computer based pass registration system. The list is checked during registration and will immediately warn prison staff both visually and audibly as an option. Separate databases are offered in the same package with separate structures to allow maximum speed, minimal storage and excellent reporting and checking facilities.  

Tesco CEO Philip Clarke has opted not to take an annual bonus of about £372,000 following a poor performance in its main British market. The retail colossus is now investing about £1 billion in an attempt to stem a dropping UK market share. Clarke, a former Tesco shelf stacker, emailed a statement to the Reuters news agency: “I decided at the beginning of the year that I would decline my annual bonus for 2012. I wasn’t satisfied with the performance in the UK.” Tensor’s contactless Smart Card or Fingerprint Biometric methods of clocking provide the fastest and safest way of recording attendance. The T32xx Biometric Clocking Unit has colour LCD display to bring an all-in-one, affordable, IP enabled, attendance recording workstation. This innovative unit will give your company irrefutable control over working patterns rules. Equipped with biometric fingerprint technology, GPS auto location, speech output, video and mobile phone support you can eliminate fraudulent clocking and manage your global business environment better than ever.  

An English Heritage site manager spoke out about criminal acts at a 2,500 year-old tourist attraction. Peter Bleach said the latest damage to Scarborough Castle is “extremely disappointing.” He added: “People often climb the 300-ft cliff walls to gain access during the night. This is very dangerous as the walls are 900 years old and are unstable.” Taking the fence and warning signs were “very irresponsible. Whoever did this placed themselves and the public at serious risk of death.” Tensor’s gates, barriers, and turnstiles are ideal for protecting and securing outdoor sites or exterior areas of a business. Our barriers fully integrate with our smart card and biometric access control systems. When absolute entrance or exit security is required, full height turnstiles are the perfect solution and they are suitable for unmanned locations. Tensor’s full height turnstiles are tamper-resistant and weatherproof ensuring they can last in even the most unforgiving of environments. For more information on a Tensor turnstile, please contact our sales team.  

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair was today (Monday) accused live on television of war crimes by an intruder. The footage of the protester was captured because Mr Blair at the time was giving evidence about the influence of the media on politics. The protestor shouted accusations about the Iraq war at the ex-PM before being removed from the Royal Courts of Justice. Mr Blair went on to deny all allegations made by the man. Tensor access control devices ensure that intruders do not gain entry to your premises. The Tensor T3512 Low Cost 1 Scanner System involves magnetic door release with built in door monitoring using a smart card scanner. The T3512 can be installed without a PC connection. Here, it is easily installed and set up using a Master Card to add or delete users. Whilst the T3511 controller performs best when connected to a PC, using it in standalone mode means it can function in the simplest of environments, with minimal fuss.