6:39 am, March 26, 2023
Post Office workers offered nine per cent pay rise and up to £3,000 lump sums
Post Office workers will vote on a deal their union said includes a nine per cent pay rise, ‘substantial’ lump sum payments and additional benefits.
After negotiations, an agreement has been reached to include the wage increase from April, lump sums of between £1,925 and £3,000 plus benefits such as an increase in paternity pay, the Communication Workers’ Union said.
The deal, endorsed by the union’s postal executive, will be put to a ballot of members. Post Office workers staged a series of strikes and other forms of industrial action last year.
Mary Portas warns John Lewis it has ‘let go of the soul’
Retail consultant and broadcaster Mary Portas has sent an open letter to retail giant John Lewis warning that it has ‘let go of the soul’.
She published the letter on networking site LinkedIn following the news the department store was considering ending its employee-owned business structure in order to attract investment.
John Lewis has also recently warned of potential job cuts and told staff it wouldn’t be handing out a bonus – only the second time since 1953 this has happened.
Intel co-founder Gordon Moore dies at 94
Intel co-founder Gordon Moore has died aged 94.
Moore – who set the breakneck pace of progress in the digital age with a simple 1965 prediction of how quickly engineers would boost the capacity of computer chips – died on Friday at his home in Hawaii, according to Intel and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
He held a PhD in chemistry and physics, and made his famous observation – now known as ‘Moore’s Law’ – three years before helping to start Intel with Robert Noyce.
Nicola Sturgeon in ‘early stages’ of learning how to drive
Nicola Sturgeon is in the ‘early stages’ of learning to drive as she prepares to stand aside as Scottish First Minister.
The outgoing SNP leader described the move as being ‘part and parcel of the next phase of life’. Sturgeon has been at the helm of the Scottish government for more than eight years. The new SNP leader will be announced on Monday.
She told a BBC podcast being made available the same day that the lessons were ‘in the early stages’ and getting behind the wheel was about ‘achieving a bit of personal freedom that I have chosen not to have to the same extent’ while pursuing a political career. ‘It’s just part and parcel of the next phase of life,’ she said.
‘Almost 700,000 London car drivers facing Ulez fee’ when zone expands
Nearly 700,000 car drivers in London will face a daily £12.50 ultra low emission zone (Ulez) fee when the scheme expands, according to new analysis.
The RAC, which carried out the research, said the expansion of the zone from August 29 will have a ‘massive financial impact on motorists and businesses’.
It followed a claim by Transport for London that nine out of 10 cars seen driving in outer London on an average day met the Ulez standards so wouldn’t be liable for the charge.
Hancock and Kwarteng tell fake firm they’ll advise for £10,000 per day
Former cabinet ministers Matt Hancock and Kwasi Kwarteng told a fake overseas company looking for MP advisers their daily rate for consultancy would be £10,000.
In a sting operation set up by campaign group Led By Donkeys, Hancock and Kwarteng both set out six-figure sums for what they would expect to be paid to advise a non-existent firm in South Korea.
There is no accusation of wrongdoing, with MPs permitted to seek employment outside of Parliament.
Deep South tornadoes kill at least 26 and injure dozens
Powerful tornadoes that ripped through Mississippi killed at least 26 people and obliterated dozens of buildings overnight.
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said in a Twitter post that search-and-rescue teams from local and state agencies were helping victims of the tornadoes.
The agency later confirmed the death toll had risen to 26, including one man who died in neighbouring Alabama. Four missing people have been found but dozens have been hurt.
Yesterday’s headlines on Car Dealer you might have missed
- Four men are jailed for life for murdering Jaguar Land Rover worker in drive-by shooting
- Supercar brand BAC to expand in Asia with three more showrooms
- Opinion: People will always want to try before they buy cars – and that’s why the likes of Cazoo are failing
Weather outlook
The first day of British Summer Time will see rain clear to the east this morning to leave the southern half of the UK mainly cloudy with some brighter spells, says BBC Weather. There’ll be sunny spells elsewhere with snow showers in the far north and east.
Monday will start chilly and frosty but there’ll be plenty of sunny spells for all, with some cloud in the south-west. The Northern Isles will cloud over later on.
