Unite Baggage Handlers in ‘Weight Lifting’ Challenge to MPs

September 30th, 2009 LONDON - Rob MacGregor, Unite national officer, said: "This agreement is a smoke screen designed to deflect criticism away from those who brought our banking system to its knees. The industry remains over populated with the greedy, arrogant and corrupt.

September 25th, 2009 LONDON - Unite, the UK's largest aviation union and the largest union representing workers at British Airways, is today (Saturday) accusing BA's management of suffering an identity crisis. It comes as the airline's management announces that it will charge for seat reservations, a move the union believes tarnishes the carrier's image further and is yet another misguided attempt to mimic the low-cost airlines.

September 8th, 2009 LONDON - Diageo's announcement today (Wednesday 9th September) to reject proposals by the Scottish Government that would safeguard jobs has outraged Unite, the UK's biggest union. Unite is also furious that Diageo has made the announcement before the conclusion of the 90-day consultation period.

July 2nd, 2009 LONDON - Today (3rd July), Jack Dromey, Unite's Deputy General Secretary, will issue a challenge to CEO Terry Leahy at Tesco's AGM to personally meet with workers employed at companies that supply meat to Tesco. In a first for a British trade union, Unite the union will table a resolution at Tesco's AGM.

June 29th, 2009 LONDON - Unite and the GMB, the lead unions in British Airways, have this evening (Tuesday) issued the following statement concerning ongoing talks with the airline in relation to its financial situation: "Talks between BA and Unite have adjourned for today (Tuesday) untill 10am tomorrow (Wednesday) when we will reconvene to contine negotiations on a mutually acceptable way forward which protects the long term interests of our members, loyal BA customers, investors and the company." Source: Unite the UnionFor further information please contact Pauline Doyle on +44(0)7976-832-861

April 1st, 2009 LONDON - Derek Simpson, Unite joint general secretary, said: "The announcement by Aviva to cut 1,100 staff will cause alarm across the insurance industry. Today we see a scenario where a company that is continuing to deliver positive results is slashing the staff that have enabled them to weather the current financial storm.

March 24th, 2009 LONDON - Unite has accused HSBC of "creative accountancy" with jobs as HSBC concedes that the true number of job cuts is in fact 2,900 as the union has rightly claimed, and not 1,200 as HSBC had originally claimed. Derek Simpson, Unite Joint General Secretary, said: "As if it was not bad enough for staff of HSBC to hear from the media that their jobs are at risk, we now have a situation where the company is failing to come clean with the true extent of these cuts.

March 18th, 2009 LONDON - Date: Wednesday 25 March Time: 12.30 Venue: Old Palace Yard, opposite House of Commons, Westminster Baggage handlers will gather at Parliament next week to demand government action forcing airlines to cut the weight of checked-in bags from 32 to 23kg to reduce high levels of muscular skeletal injuries in the civil aviation industry. Unite members from airports across the UK will be lobbying their MPs.

March 12th, 2009 LONDON - Unite, the UK's biggest civil air transport union, welcomes the announcement today (Friday) from the High Court that the challenge to the expansion of Stansted airport has been suspended. Steve Turner, Unite National Officer, said: "We are delighted at this decision today and hope we can now move on and develop an expansion programme at Stansted airport.

March 10th, 2009 LONDON - Unite, the UK's biggest civil air transport union, is balloting its members working at Manchester Airport for industrial action in a dispute over restructuring which has resulted in job cuts, pay cuts and the introduction of an unpopular shift pattern. Over 100 Swissport ground handling staff at the airport, including baggage handlers and ramp operatives, will receive ballot papers this weekend.

January 7th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has asked Air India to help its hostesses shed weight instead of sacking them. Reacting to the termination notices served to 10 air hostesses by Air India in the last week of December for being 'overweight', Anuradha Sawhney of the PETA said India's flagship carrier should have taken a compassionate and intelligent step.

August 9th, 2009 MELBOURNE - A new service to be launched in Australia next year will make it possible for travellers to hire clothes for their holidays rather than lug heavy baggage to the airport. The idea is to enable people to book the clothes they want online before beginning a trip.

April 11th, 2009 NEW DELHI - A Delhi consumer court held an international airline guilty of deficiency in services and asked it to pay Rs.20,000 as compensation to a customer for losing his bags. The Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission Thursday held Kuwait Airways guilty of causing mental tension and discomfort to Moti Lal Saini.

August 13th, 2009 Northwest Airlines union to seek election at DeltaMINNEAPOLIS — One of the biggest unions at Northwest Airlines is seeking an election that will decide whether it stays or goes as the carrier is swallowed by Delta Air Lines Inc. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said Thursday that it wants the National Mediation Board to declare that Delta and Northwest are now functioning as one airline as it relates to baggage handlers, flight simulator technicians, and plant protection workers.

March 20th, 2009 LONDON - Hollywood actress Mischa Barton will be gaining weight for the role of a supermodel in a forthcoming show. According to reports, Barton was firmly told by the show bosses that she would get to play the role in the show only if she got rid of her skinny frame.

July 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - India has become the 91st member of the Montreal Convention on Civil Aviation that imposes strict penalties on carriers for the death of passengers due to negligence, the parliament was told Thursday. Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said after Indias accession to the Montreal Convention, the amount of compensation for death or bodily injury to passengers would now be enhanced from $20,000 to $140,000.

August 26th, 2009 Rome mayor latest victim of airport baggage delaysROME — It's an enduring problem in the eternal city — seemingly endless baggage delays at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport? Now, Rome's mayor says he is determined to resolve the issue after he joined the legions of Rome-bound travelers left waiting for their bags at the airport in Fiumicino, a seaside town near Italy's capital. "I, too, have become a victim of an incredible inconvenience that continues to repeat itself at Fiumicino airport — the long wait for baggage," Mayor Gianni Alemanno said.

June 8th, 2009 Stowaway from Ethiopia found among Dulles baggageCHANTILLY, Va. — Federal authorities say they've discovered a stowaway who arrived at a Washington-area airport in the cargo hold of a flight from Ethiopia.

April 23rd, 2009 LONDON - The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has compared the challenge of tackling climate change to her own fight to lose weight. Speaking to State Department staff on Earth Day, Hillary said more must be done to reduce the department's environmental footprint, reports The Telegraph.

September 4th, 2009 Frontier raises baggage feesDENVER — Frontier Airlines said on Friday it was raising baggage fees and reducing a fee to change tickets. The Denver-based airline said it would begin charging $20 for the first checked bag and $30 for the second, up from $15 and $25.