Bus workers in London have voted to take strike action in a row over their workload during the Olympics.
Nearly 40% of Unite members working for 21 bus companies voted 94% in favour of strike action. No dates have been set.
The union, which is asking for a £500 bonus, says bus workers are the only London transport staff not in line to receive an Olympics bonus payment.
Transport for London (TfL) said bus workers were employed by private firms who set their pay.
Dates for strike action could be announced early next week.
Unite says it expects 800,000 extra passengers to travel on buses during the Games.
It said workers on London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railways, Network Rail and Virgin would all receive between £500 to £900 in extra payments.
In May, a survey of 2,955 London bus and rail passengers commissioned by the union found that 88% were in favour of Olympic bonus pay.
'Completely reprehensible'Peter Kavanagh, Unite regional secretary for London, said: "It's a disgrace that London's mayor, Boris Johnson, and the bus companies have allowed this dispute to get this far.
"Our members are only asking for an extra £17 a day which will just about buy you a pint of beer and a portion of fish and chips at the Olympics.
"Our members want the Games to be a success but their patience has run out."
Leon Daniels, TfL's managing director of surface transport, said: "I am not surprised that 70% of London's bus drivers did not vote for strike action.
"That is because about 70% of London's local bus services are not affected by the Olympic Games.
"The whole country is really entering into the spirit of the Games and the overwhelming responsible majority are pulling out all the stops to make it a huge success.
"Only Unite appears to want to exploit it by adding a further multimillion-pound burden to the hard-pressed fare-payers and taxpayers of London."
Mr Daniels added that Unite had already negotiated binding deals for pay and conditions with each of the bus companies for this year.
"Attempting to tear up those agreements and get a new one with less than 50 days to go before the Games is completely reprehensible and out of step with every other provider of services in this city this summer."
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
London 28 Widnes 24 - The Sun
Kaufusi rumbled over as the hooter sounded at the Stoop and Powell said: “That is the type of win that galvanises you as a group — and I really hope this builds the chemistry of the squad.
“For us to get two late scores shows our resolve and it is great to have something positive rather than negative to focus on.”
Kaufusi bailed out a London side who looked on course for an eighth straight defeat after try doubles from Widnes’ Cameron Phelps and Frank Winterstein.
Phelps touched down after three minutes, with Winterstein levelling things up at the break after home scores from Aussie Craig Gower and Omari Caro.
The Widnes pair struck again after the interval, but London scores from Tony Clubb and Dan Sarginson kept it close before prop Kaufusi’s late show.
Denis Betts, who saw Broncos move above his Vikings in the table, said: “We have to be philosophical about it.
“We won a game in the last minute last week and lost one in the last minute here.
“It would have been great to push ourselves away from the foot of the table but it was not to be.”
Source: www.thesun.co.uk
Turtle Divorce: Giant Turtles Divorce After 115 Years Together - Huffington Post
You can't say they didn't try.
After an impressive 115 years together, two giant turtles at an Austrian zoo are refusing to share their cage anymore, the Austrian Times reported Friday.
"We get the feeling they can't stand the sight of each other anymore," said Helga Happ, director of the Klagenfurt-based zoo, where the turtles -- Bibi, the female and Poldi, the male -- have lived for the last 36 years. Before that, they called Basel Zoo in Switzerland home.
According to the paper, zoo staff realized something was amiss when Bibi bit off a chunk of her partner's shell. When the attacks continued, Poldi was moved to another cage.
Animal experts even attempted couples' counseling -- feeding the turtles aphrodisiacs and encouraging them to play games together. But so far, efforts have failed to bring the shelled lovers back together.
Turtles aren't the only members of the animal kingdom known to "divorce" their partners. Studies have shown that some birds who mated successfully with a partner one year have "divorced" and moved on with another partner in successive years.
Click through the slideshow below for other strange, but true divorce stories.
Related on HuffPost:
Source: www.huffingtonpost.com
My Good Divorce: How One Woman Found Happiness Separating - Daily Beast
But wrenching as it was, my parents’ ostensibly “bad” divorce was in some ways ultimately a good thing for all involved. Their split, and the soul-searching it sparked in my parents, helped me build stronger individual relationships with them; I got to know my parents as flawed, complicated, vulnerable people and to forgive them. My sister says that the divorce removed from her daily life two major sources of anxiety—our parents’ fighting and her own tension with my father—and this allowed her to “gain confidence and come into my own.” My mother, who had been a relatively remote figure during my early childhood, became much more emotionally available to me, much happier, and more vibrant after the split. And my father, who had been so devastated, ultimately confronted his most powerful demons, wrote two searching and poignant books, married and found deep joy with a woman who was right for him. My parents weren’t able to repair their relationship with each other before he died several years ago, but individually they both ended up happier and better people, and that was a powerful lesson for me about the conditions under which people can flourish, do their best work, and be their best selves.
Source: www.thedailybeast.com
Not another one! Brownlees in new London selection row - Daily Mail
By Derek Hunter
|
Britain's Olympic build-up was rocked on Saturday by its second selection row in a week.
Two ‘pacemaker’ athletes have been picked for the six-strong triathlon team at the London Games to help the Brownlee brothers, Alistair and Jonny, to an anticipated gold and silver double.
The uproar over the selection of Stuart Hayes and Lucy Hall ahead of better and more experienced athletes follows the furore over taekwondo’s Aaron Cook, who has been overlooked for the British team despite being world No 1.
Controversy: The squad selection has caused a new row
Four seasoned triathletes will appear for Team GB at London — world champion Alistair Brownlee, 24, and his world No 2 brother Jonny, 22, in the men’s race, and world champion Helen Jenkins and Vicky Holland in the women’s event.
But Hayes and Hall will fulfil the duties of pacemakers at the expense of better all-round triathletes Will Clarke, Tim Don, Liz Blatchford and Jodie Stimpson, who were all overlooked. The squad will operate on ‘team orders’ to help the Brownlees and Jenkins get medals.
‘It’s hard because two of those people have basically walked on to an Olympic team,’ said Clarke, 27, who is ranked No 12 in the world. Don, son of former Premier League referee Philip Don, is No 13 while Hayes is ranked No 46.
Clarke added: ‘There’s not any other sport like that, where someone qualifies so easily considering what others like us have been through. We’ve been racing at the top level around the world for years, gaining ranking points, and they’ve walked on to the Olympic team. But I’m still good friends with Stuey and wish him all the best.’
Brothers: Alistair Brownlee (left) and Jonathan Brownlee (right)
A report that triathletes, unhappy with the selection policy, had ‘heated words’ with selectors was vindicated when Clarke’s wife, Clare, pointed her followers on Twitter to it and said it was a ‘great summary’ of what had happened during the selection process.
Clarke, who received numerous messages of support at his surprise omission, tweeted: ‘Finally the Team GB Triathlon team has been announced. Gutted to not be part of it but good luck to the guys and bring back some medals.’
The Brownlee brothers finished together in first place at the Blenheim triathlon as Alistair made his comeback from injury. On form, they would be expected to win gold and silver in London, while Jenkins is favourite in the women’s event.
Not selected: Aaron Cook's omission caused a stir
British Triathlon want to maximise their chances, however, hence the inclusion of Hall and Hayes, who are quick swimmers and cyclists and can pace their team-mates before fading.
Hall said: ‘They made it clear that, if I was going to take this place on the team, I would be going as someone to help [Jenkins]. Everyone can’t be happy with the decision. People are always going to be upset. That’s how it is, that’s sport.
‘It’s horrible to think some people don’t get to fulfil their Olympic dreams. I hope they understand why I’m taking this opportunity. It’s a home Olympics. I can’t turn it down.’
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
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