Tube workers to reject Games offer March 18, 2012 TUBE workers are set to reject yet another Olympics bonus offer this week, leaving transport bosses scrambling to avoid strikes during the Games, which are now just over four months away. Almost 150 reps for the RMT will today call on the union to turn down the latest £850 overtime and bonus package. The reps [...]
Mayoral rivals clash on transport while courting the business vote March 15, 2012 LONDON’S mayoral candidates clashed last night as they delivered their pitch to business leaders, explaining how they would attract investment and boost infrastructure in the capital. Transport dominated the agenda, with Conservative candidate Boris Johnson saying the city was in the middle of a “neo-Victorian surge in transport investment” while Labour’s Ken Livingstone attacked fare [...]
Stunning new concourse at King’s Cross opens March 14, 2012 THE NEW concourse at King’s Cross station was unveiled yesterday, marking the end of a five-year makeover at the central London station. The steel and glass dome, which weighs 1,700 tonnes, was designed by architect John McAslan to complement the rest of the Grade I listed station. Commuters will be able to walk through the [...]
Unite rejects Olympics Tube bonus March 14, 2012 Unite the union yesterday rejected London Underground’s offer of an £850 Olympics bonus for its maintenance and management workers. Unite said the offer, which is still being considered by transport union RMT, had “strings attached [that] are totally unacceptable” including a requirement to work flexibly. Unite has also announced a ballot of London bus drivers [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 14, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES CAR LOANS SPEED UP AT CLOSE BROTHERS Close Brothers has reported strong growth at its banking arm in the six months to 31 January, but profits were held back by its securities and asset management divisions. Profits at the banking division have grown since the start of the financial crisis, as it expanded [...]
A third runway at Heathrow isn’t enough. Let’s allow our regional airports to take off March 12, 2012 A WORLD-CLASS city deserves world-class aviation links. Without them, businesses and jobs will drift away. With its crowded airports, limited long-haul options and unreliable air services, London faces exactly this threat. Something needs to be done. For some, the answer is “Britain needs a bigger hub airport”. This ideology seeks to conflate concern about Britain’s [...]
DIXON SETS SAIL FOR A PLUSH NEW HABITAT March 11, 2012 Tom Dixon, Habitat’s former head of design, has conjured up interiors for some of London’s swankiest hangouts including Shoreditch House, the Paramount Club at the top of Centre Point and Jamie Oliver’s Barbecoa restaurant at One New Change. The British designer is now moving into uncharted waters: turning Sea Containers House on London’s South Bank [...]
Greek deal won’t save the Eurozone March 8, 2012 IT was long a foregone conclusion that enough bondholders would sign up to the Greek plans. But it would be a terrible mistake to believe that as a result all of the Eurozone’s problems have gone away. They haven’t. Two issues have been kicked into the long grass; all the others remain. Greece will be [...]
Tube staff net Olympics bonus offer of £850 March 8, 2012 LONDON Underground has come a step closer to preventing worker walk-outs during the Olympics by offering staff a bonus of £850 each. Transport for London has raised its offer for around 18,000 LU staff following a dispute with union RMT. Workers would receive a £350 flat-rate bonus, plus an extra £20 per shift and a [...]
Lecturey Raven gets it wrong March 8, 2012 Film THE RAVEN Cert: 12A ** Athriller in which an obsessed fan murders his victims based on the works of Edgar Allen Poe sounds like it could make for an interesting movie, especially when you add in the fact that the 19th century author himself helps try to solve the mystery. The Raven, however, is [...]