Beta version of pensions dashboard due by next March after Treasury signs agreement with 11 largest insurers September 11, 2016 A prototype of the government's long-awaited pensions dashboard is due to be ready by March next year, after the UK's biggest pension providers gave the project a green light. The Treasury has secured an agreement from the 11 groups, including Aviva, HSBC, Royal London, Standard Life and Zurich, to build the prototype, while the Association [...]
A dramatic new plan has emerged to save British steelworkers’ pensions almost exactly three months after the end of a government consultation September 22, 2016 A radical new plan has emerged to save the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS), as Tata and unions officials work to remove obstacles to a potential sale of UK steelworks including Port Talbot. India's Tata has been locked in talks with Germany's Thyssenkrupp over a potential joint venture since July, but UK sites including the [...]
Murdoch swoops: 21st Century Fox agrees Sky takeover deal December 15, 2016 Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox today agreed a takeover deal for UK broadcaster Sky. Fox, which already owns 39 per cent of Sky, has made a £10.75-per-share offer, worth £11.7bn. The approach values the whole of the UK media giant at £18.5bn. Fox said it would be using a scheme of arrangement, meaning it would need 75 [...]
Post Office strike: 3600 walk out today as further action could cause Christmas post chaos October 31, 2016 Thousands of staff at Post Offices across the UK will walk out today as they strike over jobs, pensions and branch closures. The 24-hour strike will affect 118 of the Crown Post Offices, but 99 per cent of the 11,600 Post Offices will remain open. Up to 3,500 members of the Communication Workers Union and Unite [...]
Post Office workers set to strike next week September 8, 2016 Thousands of workers will be carrying out a 24-hour national strike next week due to a dispute about branch closures, jobs and pensions. The strike – planned for 15 September and organised by the Communication Workers Union (CWU) – comes after the Post Office announced it would be closing its pension scheme. Eighty-three per cent of CWU [...]
Christmas strikes 2016: From Southern rail to British Airways, why’s everyone striking? December 19, 2016 A raft of Christmas strikes is set to unfold this week, with travel particularly affected. Around 3,000 staff at various Crown post offices are set to walk out today, Tuesday and Saturday, while members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union unleash their latest industrial action on Southern rail today and tomorrow, with an ongoing [...]
Ofcom pushes to legally separate BT and Openreach November 29, 2016 Ofcom said today that it will push ahead with plans to legally separate BT and its broadband network division Openreach. The watchdog accused BT of failing to volunteer any actions that would address competition concerns. BT shares dropped 1.3 per cent at the open. Openreach is the division of BT Group that develops and maintains [...]
Universal credit rollout is still concerning but the new welfare system should help encourage people to work once it has been fully introduced February 3, 2016 While MPs are concerned about how universal credit is being rolled out, economists think the new system helps to encourage people into work. A report released today by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has found that universal credit should encourage those who were disincentivised by the previous system to find employment. However, the report also noted that preemptive cuts [...]
EU referendum: Mayor of London Boris Johnson will back Brexit and join Vote Leave as he advocates a new relationship with Europe based on trade February 21, 2016 The Mayor of London Boris Johnson will be backing the campaign for the UK to leave the EU. In a huge blow to Prime Minister David Cameron, Johnson said that while he "loves Brussels", he will be campaigning in support of Brexit. "There should be no confusing of the wonders of Europe, with the political project [...]
Thousands of London Underground staff vote to go on strike, says RMT November 15, 2016 The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union has announced that workers on the London Underground have voted to go on strike in two separate disputes. The RMT carried out two separate ballots: one of 400 Piccadilly Line drivers and the other of over 3,000 station workers. The union said the former was over a "wholesale breakdown" [...]