Published: 17 April 2023
By Suzanne Evans, Director, Political Insight
The Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) released a joint statement on Saturday saying they have reached a proposed agreement over pay and employment terms. It will now be considered by the union's executive before being voted on by members. More than 110,000 postal staff at Royal Mail, owned by International Distributions Services, have held several nationwide strikes this and last year, strikes Royal Mail has claimed have contributed to ongoing losses of £1m a day at the business. No details of the proposed deal were given in the statement.
Ambulance staff and other health workers represented by the Unison union in England have also struck a deal to end strike action, voting to accept a 5% wage increase proposed by the Government as a final offer. "Clearly health workers would have wanted more, but this was the best that could be achieved through negotiation," Unison head of health Sara Gorton said in a statement. "The decision by members of Unison, the largest NHS union, to accept the pay offer recommended by their leadership demonstrates that it is a fair and reasonable proposal that can bring this dispute to an end," a government spokesperson said.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN), however, has said nurses have rejected the 5% pay rise offer, so it has set out plans for further strikes. Some 54% of nurses who took part in a ballot voted to reject the deal, with the RCN had recommended they accept. Turnout was 61% of eligible members. There will now be a 48-hour strike from 30th April, which for the first time will be joined by nursing staff from emergency departments, intensive care units, cancer care and other services that were previously exempt.
600 Amazon workers in Coventry began a three-day strike yesterday in a dispute over pay. GMB union members working for Amazon are calling for a pay rise from £10.50 to £15 an hour, although the union is not recognised by the US tech giant. A spokesperson for the online retailer said it carried out regular reviews of its pay to "ensure we offer competitive wages", adding that only a "tiny proportion" of its workforce in Coventry was involved in the dispute.
The Government wants Britain to take part in developing Japan's offshore wind power via options ranging from the participation of its energy companies to providing financing and insurance, Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps told Reuters yesterday. "I think the British input (in Japan) is probably both the energy companies - the physical side of it - but also the finance side of it, the finance mechanism, the insurance, the technical know-how consultancy," Shapps said. The G7 have agreed to speed up the development of renewable energy during a two-day meeting in Sapporo in northern Japan, pledging to collectively increase offshore wind capacity by 150 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 and solar capacity to more than 1 terawatt.
Andy Willis, CEO of Kona Energy, has told City A.M. he wants National Grid’s electricity network to be opened up to competition from private companies to speed up connections for new projects. Renewable companies looking to connect their projects to the grid should not be “at the mercy of their procurement times” and “how much engineering resources those companies have,” he said. National Grid oversees the entry queue for thousands of starter projects every year, but its system has been slammed as obsolete – with the Transmissions Entry Capacity queue operating on a first-come first-serve basis, regardless of the viability of any project, City A.M. says.
The high cost involved in producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is likely to push up ticket prices for air travel and put some off flying, according to Sustainable Aviation. However, it believes people will "still want to fly" despite "slightly higher costs," and annual passenger numbers are still expected to rise by nearly 250 million by 2050. Sustainable Aviation is an alliance of companies including airlines such as British Airways, airports such as Heathrow and manufacturers like Airbus.
A Deloitte survey of CFOs in Britain’s largest companies shows their confidence has seen its sharpest rise since 2020 as concerns about energy prices and Brexit have eased. 25% more finance chiefs felt better about the future, Deloitte said.
A coalition of 15 major investors managing £2.4tn in assets will use this year's shareholder meeting season to press some of Britain's biggest listed employers to protect their lowest-paid workers during the cost-of-living crisis, Reuters reports. Responsible investment group ShareAction said on Friday that investors including Britain's biggest asset manager Legal and General Investment Management, Aviva Investors, AXA Investment Managers, and Nest have all signed a statement urging businesses to ensure the lowest-paid workers are targeted in pay awards that meet the current rate of inflation. ShareAction wants businesses to commit on a long-term basis to paying the real Living Wage to all employees across supply chains, including third-party contracted staff. It also wants businesses to provide guaranteed working hours and fair and accurate contracts.
FTSE 250 payments company Network International said this morning it had received a non-binding cash offer from a consortium private equity firms CVC Capital Partners and Francisco Partners of 387p a share. Network said that having "carefully evaluated" the proposal with its financial advisers, it has concluded that it would be minded recommending acceptance, should a firm intention to make an offer be announced. Shares are up around 20% at the time of writing to 364p.
Gambling giant 888 reported a pretax loss of £115.7m, swinging from a £59m profit last year, due to borrowing costs associated with its June 2022 acquisition of William Hill. However, although the takeover imposed additional costs, it sent 888’s revenue up 75% to £1.2bn. Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation also climbed 82% due to the merger. 888 took on William Hill’s 1400 betting shops as well as its online gaming brands.
The head of Welsh Water has defended the company's record on pollution and his six-figure salary, after news that five of nine Welsh rivers designated as Special Areas of Conservation were failing on phosphorus levels and excessive nutrients. Peter Perry told the BBC Radio Wales' Sunday Supplement programme yesterday that 41% of rivers in Wales are of good status under the Water Framework Directive, compared with 14% in England and that 80% of coastal bathing waters around Wales met the classification of "excellent" while all are classified as "good". He said Welsh Water was investing just under £80m to reduce phosphate in the River Wye, and that by 2026 all the major phosphate pollution loads from Welsh Water assets will have been dealt with". He went on to defend his salary of £332,000 in 2022, plus pension contributions and bonus payments. "My pay is not determined by me, it's not influenced by me…I do get the fact that I'm well paid - I'm not going to try and deny that...I'm pretty much the lowest paid of my equivalence in England and Wales”.
British banknote printer De La Rue Plc said on Friday that chairman Kevin Loosemore has resigned from his role and will leave office on 1st May. His resignation comes weeks after its third-largest shareholder Crystal Amber Fund Limited (CRSL.L) had called for a general meeting to oust him. De La Rue launched a search for Loosemore's replacement. Earlier this week, De La Rue warned on 2023 profits as demand for cash hit its lowest in over two decades.
Twiggy has lost a legal battle to stop a pet accessory business registering the trademark Twiggy Tags. Dame Lesley Dawson DBE, better known as the iconic 1960 model Twiggy, tried to stop the company – which designs leads and harnesses for dogs - from registering the name, claiming she owned the sole rights to it. However, her argument was rejected by the Intellectual Property Office. Twiggy Tags, which has only one employee, was represented by Lord Sugar’s company Trade Mark Wizards. The trademark attorneys have landed a slew of high-profile wins in recent years, seeing off Pinterest, MasterChef, Sandals Resorts and Giorgio Armani in brand disputes.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted Elon Musk’s company SpaceX launch permission for Starship, a super rocket he hopes will one day carry people into space. The FAA said the rocket has been granted the relevant licence having cleared regulatory checks. SpaceX was eyeing today for the take-off by one of the most powerful rockets ever built; it boasts over 30 raptor engines and is designed to carry up to 100 people on “interplanetary” missions, according to SpaceX. It has already gone through a number of test flights, four of which have ended in explosions.
The maker of the Angry Birds video games, Rovio Entertainment, has agreed to be taken over by Japanese gaming giant Sega Sammy Holdings. The deal will see Sega, best known for its Sonic the Hedgehog character, paying €706m (£625m), for the company.
Why Media is an award-winning design, marketing, digital communications and PR agency offering tailored solutions to companies on a global scale. We have extensive experience in delivering design and marketing services to a spectrum of companies including professional services, property companies, financial institutions and shopping centres. We have offices in London UK, Hertford UK, Finestrat ES & Brescia IT.
Marketing Contact
Name: Claire White
E-Mail: claire@whymedia.com
Telephone: 01992 586 507
