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 [...]
Sir Philip Green takes fresh swipe at Frank Field on the eve of parliamentary showdown October 19, 2016 First Sir Philip Green published a report from a top lawyer criticising MPs, and now he’s gone one step further by launching a stinging attack on Frank Field in the form of a letter from the retailer. On the eve of the Commons debate on whether Green should be stripped of his knighthood, a letter seen by [...]
15,000 people apply for 78 Virgin Trains driver jobs October 19, 2016 More than 15,000 people have applied to drive Virgin's new Azuma trains, after the rail operator launched its biggest recruitment drive on the east coast route since the 1980s. And there were only 78 positions up for grabs. There hasn't been quite so much excitement over a job listing since Tesco advertised for a Christmas tree [...]
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 [...]
Eurotunnel gets a boost from weak sterling and remains bullish over Brexit October 19, 2016 It looks like there's light at the end of the Brexit tunnel – at least from Eurotunnel's perspective. The operator of the Channel Tunnel announced that total revenues for the third quarter rose four per cent to €320.3m (£285.4m), compared to the same period in 2015. And it was positive about its prospects going forward, predicting ongoing [...]
Unite urges government to beef up its industrial strategy after GKN job losses October 19, 2016 Britain's biggest trade union warned that the government needs to bring in its new industrial strategy urgently, as 221 jobs at the Yeovil GKN plant, which makes airframes for Royal Navy helicopters are set to be cut. Unite said that Theresa May's "much-trumpeted" industrial strategy needed "flesh put on the bones double quick", otherwise thousands of skilled [...]
Yahoo beats Wall Street estimates ahead of Verizon takeover October 18, 2016 Yahoo beat Wall Street earnings estimates in its third quarter earnings, which was a welcome bit of good news for Marissa Mayer’s firm. The company said it earned 20 cents per share on an adjusted basis, above analyst predictions of 14 cents and reported a 6.5 per cent rise in quarterly revenue. But although Yahoo reported [...]
