RMT sets DLR strike dates January 13, 2011 TRANSPORT union RMT yesterday announced 48 hours of strike action on the Docklands Light Railway between 03.59 hours next Thursday 20 January 2011 and 03.58 hours on Saturday 22 January 2011 in a dispute with Serco Docklands. RMT blamed a “breakdown” in industrial relations for the move. The planned strike comes after the government warned [...]
DLR staff vote to strike January 12, 2011 CANARY WHARF is set to endure another round of travel misery, after workers on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) voted in favour of strike action yesterday. The RMT union said 162 staff from operator Serco Docklands voted to strike, with 36 voting against action in a dispute over pensions, working hours and redundancies. David Stretch, [...]
FTSE treads water as fears over European debts weigh December 16, 2010 BRITAIN’S top shares closed little changed yesterday as persistent concerns over Europe’s debt problems capped moves on the upside while BP fell after the US government launched a lawsuit over the Gulf oil spill. The FTSE 100 ended down 1.06 points at 5,881.12. The index ebbed away from an intra-day high of 5,907.10, with analysts [...]
FTSE 100 nudges higher on oil firms but miners miss out December 14, 2010 BRITAIN’S leading share index pushed higher yesterday, led by energy stocks with BP boosted by Royal Dutch Shell bid interest talk. The FTSE 100 index ended up 30.46 points, or 0.5 per cent at 5,891.21, a closing level not seen since June 2008. “Volumes remain thin, but the FTSE keeps going up, with oils adding [...]
FTSE closes highest since June 2008 December 14, 2010 LONDON’S stock indices advanced again today after UK inflation figures and thin volumes failed to hold back its gains. The FTSE 100 index closed up 30.46 points or 0.5 per cent at 5,891.21, its best performance since June 2008, despite trading which analysts described as “lacklustre”. In contrast, the mid-market FTSE250 hit three year high, [...]
FTSE closes up but US uncertainty weighs on Wall Street December 9, 2010 LONDON’S FTSE 100 closed above 5,800 today for only the second time in almost a month, pushed up by financial services firms. Barclays, RBS and the Prudential were among the biggest gainers, while energy firm BG also rose more than three per cent and services firms Serco and BT also made the top ten. HSBC [...]
Longer deals for rail firms December 7, 2010 TRAIN companies are to get longer franchises in return for cutting costs under plans unveiled yesterday by the government. Ministers plan to offer 15-year-minimum contracts for rail franchises in 2012 and 2013, although some companies will receive short-term franchises in particular circumstances. Transport secretary Philip Hammond said an interim report from a government-sponsored rail industry review [...]
Capita says cuts will hit its revenues November 18, 2010 CAPITA yesterday said revenues would be hit harder by government spending cuts than it previously expected, casting a shadow over predictions that robust support services firms stand to gain from the era of austerity. Since the coalition was formed in May, many large support services firms such as Capita and rival Serco have sounded bullish [...]
Trident staff in pay revolt November 16, 2010 THE UNION representing engineers and scientists working on nuclear warheads for Britain’s Trident missiles said they are to take industrial action in protest over the latest pay offer from their employer, the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE). Prospect union spokesman Graham Stewart said its 1,300 members, who represent the majority of specialist staff at AWE’s Aldermaston [...]
Serco on track to hit targets November 15, 2010 GOVERNMENT moves to cut costs by contracting out services have paid off for support service group Serco, putting it on course to hit targets and boosting its shares. The group’s stock rose 8.5p to 571.5p after it said it was on track to boost revenue to about £5bn by the end of 2012 and to [...]