Unite to begin balloting Gatwick staff on strike action over closure of pensions scheme October 20, 2016 Unite has announced it will begin balloting 1,800 members for strike action next Friday over the closure of Gatwick’s final salary pension scheme. Surface transport workers, firefighters and security officers are to be balloted, following a 96 per cent vote in favour of doing so in a recent consultative ballot. It will close on 16 [...]
Baggage handler Aviator pulls out of UK airports including Gatwick October 20, 2016 Scandinavian baggage handler Aviator is preparing to close its UK operations, spanning Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham and Newcastle airports, ahead of Christmas. The move by Aviator, which is understood to be ending its contracts for financial reasons, is set for the end of November and would leave the four airports short of around 1,700 staff. It is [...]
10m journeys have been made with Sadiq Khan’s new bus Hopper fare October 20, 2016 Over 10m journeys have been made in the first six weeks of the Mayor's new bus "Hopper" fare, according to Transport for London (TfL). The milestone journey was made at 4pm on Wednesday afternoon on bus route 322, running from Tesco in Brent Park to Paddington Station. Read more: TfL signs £79m deal with Serco [...]
Planned Southern rail strike on 3 November suspended – following a request from the British Legion October 20, 2016 A Southern rail strike planned for 3 November has been suspended following a request from the British Legion. Southern workers were originally planning to strike on 3 November, as part of a long-running industrial dispute over the role of train guards. However, 3 November is the date of this year's London Poppy Day, which sees thousands of [...]
Sir Howard Davies wants the government to get on with airport expansion vote October 19, 2016 Sir Howard Davies, the chair of the Airports Commission – which made its recommendation on Heathrow over a year ago, could be forgiven for feeling a little impatient over airport expansion. And speaking at property conference MIPIM UK, Davies said a parliamentary vote on the matter should be held without delay. Read more: MPs threaten [...]
Severe delays on District and Circle Lines due to signal failure causing rush hour chaos for London commuters October 19, 2016 Severe delays on both the Circle and District Lines are still causing havoc for commuters, after a signal failure at South Kensington station this morning. Rush hour commuters faced travel disruption earlierwith severe delays along the entire District Line, and no service at all in the clockwise direction on the Circle Line, with severe delays going [...]
The City is struggling with the Whitehall Brexit machine October 18, 2016 Key figures in the City are growing increasingly frustrated with what they see as an indifferent and unsupportive approach towards the Square Mile in two of the government departments responsible for hammering out the UK’s Brexit deal. Several sources have indicated to City A.M. that, while Philip Hammond and his Treasury team are instinctively sympathetic [...]
Now Aslef’s balloting Southern Rail drivers for industrial action October 18, 2016 The UK train drivers' union Aslef has announced that drivers on Southern Railway will be balloted for industrial action, after last-ditch talks came to nothing. Talks were arranged at the union's head office yesterday, but the union said they "failed to resolve the problems at the heart of this dispute". Read more: Southern Rail commuters had [...]
Eurostar cuts 80 jobs as it’s buffeted by Brexit and terror attacks October 18, 2016 Eurostar is cutting 80 jobs, following a downturn in passenger numbers and ticket revenue, which the train company has partly attributed to the Brexit vote. The company is also set to unveil a new international timetable in December, though it wouldn't confirm reports that it was cutting two daily trains to Paris and one to Brussels, after [...]
23-year old man arrested after alleged rape in Houses of Parliament October 18, 2016 A man has been arrested on suspicion of rape at the Houses of Parliament. The 23-year-old man, believed to be an aide to Conservative MP, was arrested and has been released on bail. Police refused to confirm the suspect's name, but said he was not a Member of Parliament. It has been reported that the aide took [...]