Portugal suffers from jitters on the back of Greek uncertainty April 26, 2010 YIELDS on 10-year Portuguese bonds rose to 5.3 per cent yesterday, as investors fretted over what the Greek debt crisis might mean for some of Europe’s more peripheral economies. Now 10-year bond yields in Portugal have risen from 4.28 per cent a couple of weeks ago and yields on shorter term debt is rising too. [...]
Rail worker strike talks resume April 12, 2010 Network Rail and the Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union have resumed talks to resolve disputes between rail maintenance workers and management. Strikes were called off last week after an emergency High Court injunction was granted to Network Rail following a legal challenge to the union’s ballot. RMT’s officials will also meet this week to [...]
BANK OF ENGLAND BOFFIN KNOCKS THE SPOTS OFF THE COMPETITION March 31, 2010 WHEN it comes to pepping up weighty speeches with witty references to popular culture, the boffins from the Bank of England aren’t exactly known for being trailblazers. But Andrew Haldane, the Bank’s executive director for financial stability, tore his peers’ stuffy image to shreds in a speech in Hong Kong this week by managing to [...]
Network Rail to seek strike injunction March 31, 2010 A LEGAL standoff between Network Rail and trade union RMT has been pushed back to today, after the rail operator threatened to seek an injunction against a proposed strike by signalling staff. The two will meet this morning in front of a High Court judge to push for an injunction to prevent a three-day walkout [...]
Wave of strikes set to cause transport chaos March 30, 2010 BRITONS are facing a spring of strikes with a raft of airline, rail and tube walkouts hitting travellers. Major disruptions are likely as British Airways (BA), Network Rail and London Underground staff threaten to launch further walkouts. The news comes as Network Rail has taken legal action against rail union RMT over threats of a [...]
Unite to give BA staff cash March 29, 2010 THE UNITE union has pledged to raise £700,000 to pay striking British Airways (BA) cabin crew, in a move designed to show it has the stomach for more walkouts. It will impose a two per cent levy on each of the local Unite branches in the next quarter, and will use the cash to pay striking [...]
CITY VIEWS: ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT A SPRING OF STRIKES? March 29, 2010 ROSS D’AURIGNY | AURIGNY COMMODITIES “I think its become inevitable that we will see a spring of strikes and rail workers are next. The strikers have lost all semblance of reality about what it all started over. The trade unions don’t realise they are costing Gordon Brown the election. We are in for a torrid [...]
Network Rail to meet trade unions March 28, 2010 RAIL unions are set to go back into talks with Network Rail today in a bid to avoid a post-Easter industrial action. The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) said that rail unions Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) and the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) will sit down with Network Rail to resolve their dispute. [...]
Network Rail staff to strike March 25, 2010 BRITAIN’S railways are set to descend into chaos in the four days immediately after Easter, after rail union RMT yesterday called a crippling national rail strike for the first time in 16 years. Strikes are set to go ahead on each of four days between 6am and 10am and between 6pm and 10pm, starting on [...]
Tube staff threaten strike March 24, 2010 LONDON Underground has been given until the end of today to withdraw plans to axe 800 jobs or workers will walk out of the job. The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, which is representing workers facing job cuts said it will call a ballot for strike if management doesn’t comply. “We have already warned [...]