MANY PIAB CLAIMS STILL GOING TO COURTS - The Irish Times says thousands of people with personal injury claims are opting to pursue them in the courts rather than staying with the new 'lawyer-free' system set up to handle such cases.
Almost 40% of assessments made by the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) in the first two and a half years of its existence have been rejected by claimants, figures obtained by the paper reveal.
Meanwhile, of the 40,000 applications it has received, the board has been forced to refer almost one-third to the courts.
The paper says claimants' mistrust of the new system remains high, with over 90% of them opting to employ a solicitor to process their applications. The board deals directly with the public, bases its awards on medical documentation alone and refuses to pay legal costs.
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C&W IRISH ARMS LOST €5m - The Irish Independent reports that two Irish subsidiaries of telecoms giant Cable & Wireless racked up combined losses of €4.9m in 2006, according to accounts just filed with the Companies Office.
One company, Cable & Wireless (Ireland), lost almost €3.8m for the year ended March 2006, while its sister company Cable & Wireless Services lost €1.1m.
The paper says Cable & Wireless (Ireland) is the larger business, with its activities described as the 'sale, installation, maintenance and rental of telephone and data system'.
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AIRBUS UNIONS THREATEN 'WAR' - The Financial Times says Airbus is today expected to announce its controversial restructuring plan that includes up to 10,000 job cuts across the aircraft maker's 16 European sites.
On Tuesday, Airbus unions threatened serious disruption. Workers in one French factory called a pre-emptive strike.
The FT says Force Ouvrière, the dominant union at Airbus France, said any attempt to sell or close French sites would be considered a declaration of war.
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BONDERMAN DEFENDS PRIVATE EQUITY - The Guardian reports that a protest by British workers yesterday at a gathering of private equity executives was dismissed as out of touch and ill informed by David Bonderman, the founder of top five buy-out firm Texas Pacific.
He said the anxiety expressed by unions and politicians was unwarranted and obscured a story of growth in profits and jobs triggered by private equity deals; the industry was far from the image of aggressive asset strippers painted by critics, he said.
