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."

"Vindicated" India renews call for London to drop Dow

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Friday renewed its demand that London 2012 terminates itssponsorship deal with Dow Chemicals, feeling vindicated by the resignation of a Games watchdog panel member over the tie-up.

Meredith Alexander quit the Commission for a Sustainable London2012 on Wednesday, saying she did not want to be part of a body that "became an apologist" for Dow Chemicals, the U.S. firm linked to India's 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy.

Meredith Alexander, former member of the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012, speaks to a reporter at the headquarters of Amnesty International in London January 25, 2012. REUTERS/Chris Helgren

Dow bought the Bhopal plant owner Union Carbide in 1999.

Alexander said a number of other panel members were also "deeply disturbed" by the company's sponsorship of a temporary decorative wrap around London's Olympic Stadium.

Her resignation prompted IOA chief Vijay Kumar Malhotra to send a second letter to International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge exactly six months before the Games, saying there was no need to carry "this toxic legacy."

"...the resignation of Ms Meredith Alexander from the Games Ethics Committee - the Commission for Sustainable London 2012 - has vindicated IOA's stand of opposing Dow's sponsorship," Malhotra wrote in his letter, copies of which were distributed to Indian media.

"I am sure that you are well aware of the growing opposition to this sponsorship the world over with NGOs (non-governmental organisations), intellectuals like Noam Chomsky, Members of British Parliament and civil society openly coming out against it.

"On behalf of the IOA I again urge you to take steps to remove Dow as sponsor and settle the matter as early as possible," Malhotra added.

Activists say 25,000 people died in the years that followed the gas leak at a pesticides factory in the central Indian city of Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh.

Campaigners have demanded Dow boosts a 1989 compensation package for those affected by the disaster.

Dow, also an IOC worldwide partner, has denied any responsibility for the accident and says Union Carbide had settled its liabilities with the Indian government.

A number of former Olympians have slammed the London sponsorship deal while Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan has urged the government to boycott the Games over the issue.

However, Malhotra has ruled out the possibility.

Malhotra said he has sent a copy of his letter to London Games chief Sebastian Coe as well, while also conveying the IOA's position to the British High Commissioner in India last week.

Games watchdog member quits over Dow deal

A member of the body that oversees the sustainability of the London Olympics has resigned in protest at a sponsorship deal with Dow Chemical because of the American company's ties to the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster that killed thousands in India.

The Games' organisers chose Dow to make the hundreds of plastic panels that will decorate the outside of the main stadium in a contract that has angered many Indians, including current and former Olympic athletes.

Activists say 25,000 people died in the years that followed the gas leak at a pesticides factory in the central Indian city of Bhopal. Dow bought the plant's owner in 1999 and campaigners have demanded that it boosts a 1989 compensation package for those affected by the disaster.

Meredith Alexander, who sat on the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012, said she had decided to quit the independent body because she "didn't want to be party to a defence of Dow."

"People should be free to enjoy London 2012 without this toxic legacy on their conscience," she said in a statement released by rights group Amnesty International, which has supported her cause.

"It is appalling that 27 years on, the site has still not been cleaned up and thousands upon thousands of people are still suffering."

Meredith Alexander, former member of the
Commission for a Sustainable London 2012

No one at the Olympics organising body could immediately be reached for comment. Dow has denied any responsibility for the accident and says the former owner, Union Carbide, had settled its liabilities with the Indian government.

Amnesty said the Games' organisers should admit they were wrong in awarding the contract to Dow, who are also a worldwide partner of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

"This high profile resignation means the London 2012 organisers can no longer ignore human rights concerns about Dow, a company that has refused to meet its responsibilities in relation to the victims of Bhopal," Amnesty's Seema Joshi said in a statement.

Government assurance over fuel jobs

The Government has given an assurance it is doing all it can to find a buyer for one of the country's biggest oil refineries after it fell into administration, prompting fears of job losses and fuel shortages.

Coryton refinery in Essex, which supplies 20% of fuel in London and the South East, has halted sales and told its staff it was unsure when supplies would start again.

The refinery was operating as usual on Tuesday but no deliveries of petrol or other products, including bitumen, were leaving the site. Petrol deliveries to garages and supplies of bitumen for road building and repairs will be affected "pretty soon", unions believe.

The AA said recent disruption at refineries had been short-lived, adding its main worry was the possible effect on fuel prices. Professional services firm PwC confirmed it had been appointed as administrator to the UK arm of Petroplus, which includes the Coryton refinery, an oil storage site in Teesside and a Swansea research and development site.

Around 1,000 jobs are at risk at
the Petroplus Refinery in Coryton, Essex

The shutdown at the former BP-owned refinery - with a capacity of 175,000 barrels of crude oil per day - came as Zurich-based Petroplus said talks with its lenders had broken down and it had appointed a receiver to the UK refinery.

Linda McCulloch, national officer at the Unite union, said: "One thousand jobs are at risk but we firmly believe that joint action by the owners and Government can help secure the business."

There are seven other refineries in the UK - at South Killingholme and Lindsey, both in north Lincolnshire; Fawley, near Southampton; Grangemouth, near Falkirk; Stanlow in Cheshire; and Milford Haven and Pembroke, both in Pembrokeshire.

A Department of Energy and Climate Change spokesman said: "The refinery remains operational. We understand that a process is under way to put in place the necessary commercial arrangements to deliver product into the market.

"Companies have already made alternative arrangements to ensure adequate supply of products are available while these commercial arrangements are being put in place."

Unite said energy minister Charles Hendry assured the union that the Government was "exploring all avenues" to find a buyer for the business.

PM 'interested' in Estuary airport

The Government is getting "increasingly interested" in the idea of a new airport in the Thames Estuary, London mayor Boris Johnson has said.

Mr Johnson already firmly backs a new "Boris Island" airport and architect Lord Foster has produced plans for a £50 billion airport on the Isle of Grain in Kent.

With a third runway ruled out at Heathrow, the Government is set to include the Thames Estuary option in a consultation on UK aviation this spring.

Prime Minister David Cameron is said to be growing keener on a Thames Estuary airport plan.

On BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Johnson said: "I think that where we are is that the Government is increasingly interested in this idea. I genuinely believe that they see not just the overwhelming aviation argument and the argument from international competitiveness in making sure that Britain has a hub airport that is viable for the long-term future."

But Mick Rix, the GMB union's civil aviation industry national officer, said a Thames Estuary plan was "plain daft" and called on all political parties to reopen the issue of Heathrow's third runway.

An architect's impression of how the Thames Estuary Airport could look

A Department for Transport spokesman said: "No decisions have been taken. As the Chancellor made clear in his autumn statement, we will explore all the options for maintaining the UK's aviation hub status with the exception of a third runway at Heathrow.

"The Government will consult on a sustainable framework for UK aviation this spring, at which time we will set out our long-term plans for the sector."

Colin Matthews, chief executive of airport operator BAA, which runs Heathrow, told the Today programme: "An island airport is very long and very expensive. Even if it is agreed, it will be decades away. We need jobs and we need growth in this economy today."

Having scrapped Labour's plans for a third Heathrow runway, the coalition Government had, originally, ruled out expansion at any south east England airport. Chancellor George Osborne's Autumn Statement, however, indicated that only the Heathrow option was off the table.

©Press Association 2012

Judge to make Occupy London ruling

A decision is due on the bid by the City of London Corporation to evict anti-capitalist protesters from outside St Paul's Cathedral.

After a five-day High Court hearing, which finished just before Christmas, Mr Justice Lindblom will rule on whether to grant orders for possession and injunctions against Occupy London.

The City says there is an "overwhelming" case for the court's intervention because of the impact on the area of the camp, which has been in place since October 15 last year.

It was not seeking to prevent lawful and peaceful protest or lawful assembly in the general location - but the right to protest enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights did not justify a semi-permanent campsite on the public highway, particularly in a location like St Paul's Churchyard.

Protesters camped outside St Paul's Cathedral
as part of the Occupy London Stock Exchange protest

The camp had acted as a magnet for people who had caused significant disorder and a substantial increase in crime in the area, it claimed.

Lawyers for the protesters said that the case raised an issue of "extreme public importance" and that freedom of expression was a liberty which must be jealously guarded by the courts.

The camp did not prevent worship at St Paul's and any impact it did have on those visiting, walking through or working in the vicinity was not solely detrimental.

They said that politicians, members of the public and commentators had expressed support for the camp's presence and the sentiments behind it, at a time when there was a consensus that the issues it raised needed addressing.