Britain’s conciliation service Acas said it would broker talks between British Airways (BA) and the Unite union today aimed at halting four planned five-day strikes.
The talks will take place on the same day the airline seeks an injunction at the High Court in London to prevent the strikes going ahead, the first of which is scheduled to begin tomorrow.
“There is now an opportunity for the parties to seriously reflect on the issues and the implications of not reaching an agreement,” chief conciliator Peter Harwood said on Saturday. “We will be using all of our expertise in any way we can to help the parties reach a resolution.”
Unite, Britain’s biggest union, is locked in an increasingly bitter standoff with BA over jobs, pay and staffing.
Its members are due to walk out from tomorrow to Saturday, then from May 24 to May 28, May 30 to June 3 and June 5 to June 9 — the last strike ending just two days before the soccer World Cup starts in South Africa.
The government has warned that British airspace could be closed again from Sunday as a result of the volcanic ash drifting from Iceland — a no-fly zone over parts of Northern Ireland was imposed in the early hours of yesterday.
Asked whether the threat to flights posed by the ash cloud would have any impact on the strike action, Tony Woodley, joint general secretary of Unite, said: “Like many people, we are assessing the situation, but at this moment there is absolutely no need to call off the strike.”
“Our main focus is on making sure we have meaningful talks at Acas in the coming days,” he said.
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
FOUR DESIGNATED AREAS: Notices were issued for live-fire exercises in waters south and northwest of Penghu, northeast of Keelung and west of Kaohsiung, they said The military is planning three major annual exercises across the army, navy and air force this month, with the navy’s “Hai Chiang” (海強, “Sea Strong”) drills running from today through Thursday, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The Hai Chiang exercise, which is to take place in waters surrounding Taiwan, would feature P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and S-70C anti-submarine helicopters, the ministry said, adding that the drills aim to bolster the nation’s offshore defensive capabilities. China has intensified military and psychological pressure against Taiwan, repeatedly sending warplanes and vessels into areas near the nation’s air defense identification zone and across
COVETED PRIZE: The US president would be a peace prize laureate should he persuade Xi Jinping to abandon military aggression against Taiwan, William Lai said US President Donald Trump should get the Nobel Peace Prize should he be able to convince Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to abandon the use of force against Taiwan, President William Lai (賴清德) told a conservative US radio show and podcast in an interview. The US is Taiwan’s most important international backer, despite the absence of formal ties, but since Trump took office earlier this year he has not announced any new arms sales to the nation. Trump could meet Xi at the APEC summit in South Korea on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. Lai, speaking on The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton
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