Tube workers reject Olympics offer

Leaders of London Underground workers have rejected a pay offer for working during the Olympic Games worth up to £500, it was announced.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, which represents thousands of Tube staff, said the money was not an adequate reward for being on duty during the event, which will see a huge increase in passengers across the capital for weeks.

The RMT said the offer had been slightly improved to £100 dependent on meeting "customer satisfaction" targets, and extra per shift which could add another £400.

Leaders of Tube workers said a bonus of up to
500 pounds was not an adequate reward
 for being on duty during the Olympics

The union pointed to other deals, including one of £1,100 atDocklands Light Railway which the RMT said could be worth double that amount, and £600 atLondon Overground.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: "RMT is rejecting this latest Olympics and Paralympics pay offer from LU and we will be meeting with the company again to press our case for a flat-rate, across-the-board payment which recognises the contribution of all staff throughout the high-pressure extended Olympics and Paralympics period and which is free from a whole barrage of strings and caveats.

"Other employers, notably London Overground, Network Rail and most recently DLR, have come up with serious offers and agreements and we expect London Underground to do the same.

"It is well-documented that transport will be the biggest logistical challenge throughout the Olympics period, with massive pressure on staff and services from moving millions of extra passenger journeys around Greater London and the South East.

"All we are calling for is a fair deal for all the staff involved in delivering the colossal transport challenge that we will be facing this summer and the negotiations to achieve that are ongoing."

'No plans' for Western military action on Syria, Iran

Western nations have no immediate plans for military action to stop the repression of protests in Syria or to halt Iran's nuclear programme, Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Sunday.

Asked if there was a possibility of a no-fly zone in Syria like the one imposed over Libya last year, Hague said there was "no serious prospect" of a UN resolution on the subject.

"We haven't been looking at a no-fly zone," Hague told Sky News, saying it would be only effective in tandem with other measures, and that the Syrian regime had not been relying on air power to repress protests.

"There is no serious prospect certainly at the moment of the United Nations Security Council agreeing any resulution at the moment, let alone agreeing a resolution comparable to anything that happened in Libya."

But he said that if the current Arab League monitoring mission in Syria does not work "I hope they (the Arab League) will come to the UN and suggest a way forward that we can all get behind."

Hague was also cool on suggestions by Qatar that Arab forces should be sent into Syria to stop the deadly 10-month crackdown on dissent by President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

On Iran, Hague warned that Tehran's "dangerous" nuclear drive threatened profileration across the Middle East.

"We must not be put off further sanctions by bluster or statements from Iran," Hague said, adding that he hoped European Union foreign ministers would agree new measures when they meet on January 23.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad waves at supporters during a rare public appearance in Damascus on January 11

"If it continues it will produce nuclear profileration across the Middle East, which will then be extremely dangerous for the people of Iran, for the whole region and for the peace of the world."

Hague refused to rule out military action against Iran but said Britain was not calling for it.

"We've never ruled anything out, we've not ruled out any option, or we've not ruled out supporting any option, we believe all options should be on the table, that is part of the pressure on Iran, he said.

"But we're clearly not calling for or advocating military action, we're advocating negotiation, meaningful netogiations, if Iran will enter in to them."

The West accuses Iran of trying to produce a nuclear weapon, but Iran says its programme is for civilian use.

AFP 2012