Half of all Tube trains are running as normal despite the strike April 29, 2014 Half of all scheduled Tube services are running this lunchtime despite the strike action by the RMT union, Transport for London has said. Two-third of Underground stations are open, and there were 7,961 buses operating on the city streets this morning – the highest number ever, says TfL. Boris Bike hires are up [...]
Tube strike disruption starts this morning after talks with union failed April 28, 2014 LONDONERS are this morning facing the first full day of disruption on the Tube, following the RMT union’s decision to strike for 48 hours. London Underground workers began walkouts at 9pm last night, and Transport for London said services will not get back to normal until Thursday morning. A second wave of strike action is [...]
Tube strike still on as last-ditch talks continue April 28, 2014 LONDON Underground staff will start a 48-hour strike tonight unless last-ditch talks between Transport for London and the RMT union produce a truce. TfL, which will meet with RMT officials for conciliation talks today, last night urged the union to call off the “pointless strike”. This week’s walkout, which comes after two months of negotiations [...]
RMT calls off planned pensions strike April 24, 2014 Transport union the RMT has called off planned strike action over pensionable pay. The General Grades Committee has decided not to go ahead with action planned to begin from next Monday, so Transport for London members should work normally. The general tube strike – scheduled for 28 April to 30 April and 5 May to [...]
Letters to the Editor – 22/04 – Bank productivity, Self-employment, Best of Twitter April 21, 2014 Bank productivity [Re: The British productivity disease: How to cure it, Thursday] Dominic Raab is right that falling productivity can be blamed, particularly, on sectors like finance. But can he really claim that this is due to poor competition? Has he missed the new regulations that have pushed up the cost of doing business? Perhaps [...]
Rail unions in legal challenge to privatisation April 7, 2014 TRANSPORT unions yesterday launched a legal challenge to the government’s plan to hand the East Coast Main Line service to a private sector operator. The unions have also pledged to fight the decision to extend the First Capital Connect franchises, saying they “cannot, in good conscience, allow the mistakes of the past to happen again”. [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 25 March 2014 March 24, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Russia braced for £70bn in outflows The Russian government is braced for the country’s capital outflows to soar to $70bn in the first three months of the year as investors seek cover from the fallout of President Vladimir Putin’s Ukrainian land grab. Andrei Klepach, Russia’s deputy economy minister, said capital outflows in the [...]
Obituary: RMT union boss Bob Crow passes away aged just 52 March 11, 2014 Outspoken union leader dies after suffering sudden heart attack UNION boss Bob Crow died yesterday at the age of 52 after a sudden heart attack. Crow was rushed to hospital in London on Monday night, where he later died. Doctors at Whipps Cross hospital battled for over an hour to save the Rail, Maritime and [...]
Obituary: The firebrand who led London’s transport staff March 11, 2014 WHEN BOB Crow was challenged last month about sunbathing in Brazil while his union headed towards a series of strikes on the London Underground, he replied in his typically brusque manner: “What do you want me to do, sit under a tree and read Karl Marx every day?” Crow’s fight for rail workers since winning [...]
Union leader Bob Crow passes away March 11, 2014 The 52 year old leader of the Rail Maritime Transport (RMT) union Bob Crow has passed away. He died at Whipps Cross hospital from an aneurysm and heart attack according to initial reports. Geoff Martin of the RMT said in a statement: It is with the deepest regret that RMT has to confirm that our [...]