CMA opens SSE Retail/Npower merger investigation READ MORE HERE: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-opens-sse-retailnpower-merger-investigation

Hello everyone, and thanks in advance for any advice. I work in an organisation (ok, the NHS), at a large general hospital. Over the last 5 years, we have been merged with 2 other, similar sized hospitals, each 30-40 miles from us. This has produced 1 very large organisation to replace the three previous bodies. We are in the process of standardising pay, structure and conditions across the board. This has led to the creation of 3 new junior management jobs in each of the three areas, in my specialism. I work as a supervisor, so these new jobs would be the natural next step for me to take. My problem is this. These jobs require a qualification higher than I (or anyone else in my part of the organisation) hold. The custom has always been, to apply for the job, and if successful, be awarded the job on condition of obtaining the qualification as soon as possible. I assume this was to save money on training/educating people further, who then may never seek promotion, or even leave the organisation with their expensively provided qualification. So I applied for the jobs, only, to my surprise, to receive a letter at home from my boss, saying he regretted he couldn't offer me an interview. It turns out that one of the other organisations HAD been sending their employees to college routinely, and many of them, even on the shop floor, were qualified already. Their boss insisted, apparently, that no-one should be interviewed without this qualification. As we are 'harmonising', that meant that this rule had to be applied across the board. As a consequence, only people from from one area of the organisation are allowed to apply for any management jobs. These jobs in my area have now been awarded to people from that area, while we are prevented from applying. The posts will not be filled for two more weeks though. It seems very unfair that, due to operating under different protocols for the last 15 years, we are disadvantaged in this way. It feels that the goalposts have been moved at the last minute, and all the knowledge and experience gained here over the years count for nothing now, through no failing of our own. I am a union member, but they have been no help so far (too busy, seemingly). Ideally, I would like the appointments to be postponed, and the interviews re-run including those of us who were unfairly (to our minds) excluded last time. Does anyone have any ideas how I might go about achieving this? Sorry for the long post, but it is a complicated situation, and the disappointment is crushing. Thanks for your patience, if you have read this far!

The expected sale of Milk Link to Arla Amba, which has over 8,000 farmer suppliers across Europe, would be the sale of the last part of the Milk Marketing Board, which was started to be dismantled in 1994 under Thatcherite market ideaology.