TEN years ago, this week, under-threat workers at a mobile phone company were offered the chance to keep their jobs - if they moved 7,000 miles to the Philippines.
Some staff of Orange's night shift customer services team, in Darlington, said they were even given details of a "rice allowance" they could claim when they asked for details of the transfer package to the firm's service partner, IBM, in the Filipino capital, Manila.
Orange, which merged with T-Mobile in 2010 to create Everything Everywhere, confirmed that 40 staff would be affected by plans to outsource some work abroad.
A small number accepted severance packages, while others took alternative roles within the company.
Others were placed on "special leave", receiving basic pay while they considered their options.
Orange, which cut 120 jobs in Darlington in 2010, faced a series of allegations from staff who said a consultation had been inadequate and rushed, and complained of shoddy treatment.
Meanwhile, victims of the Dreamspace inflatable artwork tragedy were to receive compensation - five years after the disaster that left two people dead.
Mother-of-two Claire Furmedge, 38, of Chester-le-Street, and grandmother Elizabeth Collings, 68, of Daltonle-Sale, Seaham, both County Durham, died and many others were injured when the walk-in inflatable attraction broke its moorings and soared into the air while on display at Chester-le-Street in July 2006.
The London artist who created Dreamspace, Maurice Agis, was charged with manslaughter, but cleared after a month-long trial.
He denied, but was convicted of a breach of public safety and was initially fined £10,000, which was reduced to £2,500 on appeal. He died, aged 77, in October 2009.
The Chester-le-Street District Council, which staged Dreamspace on its land, and Liverpool-based public arts organisation Brouhaha International (BIL) - whose chief was Maurice Agis' son, Giles - were both fined for health and safety breaches.
Among the victims who subsequently claimed compensation were Gary Furmedge, of Chester-le-Street, and William Collings, of Dalton-le-Dale, Seaham, on behalf of their wives' estates, and Mrs Collings' daughter, Susan Campbell, also of Dalton-le-Dale.
Meanwhile, the Victorian funicular lifts in Saltburn were lowered back onto their tracks after a £30,000 refurbishment.
Over the winter in 2010, the water-powered carriages had their first off-site overhaul since 1992 with the addition of an intercom system, which would allow staff to speak to passengers.A crane placed the carriages, considered a popular tourist attraction, back on the tracks.
The carriages link Saltburn pier to the town and were opened on June 28, 1884, making it the oldest remaining water-balance cliff lift in Britain.
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