News

Avanti West Coast adds extra services from Manchester to London so mourners can pay respects to Queen Elizabeth II

The rail operator claims the extra services will add 16,000 seats.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 14th September 2022

Avanti West Coast has confirmed it will add extra services to its timetable each day so that mourners from Manchester can travel to London to pay their respects to HM Queen Elizabeth II.

The rail company – which has been responsible for operating the West Coast Main Line route from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston since December 2019 – has been met with widespread backlash and criticism from the public and local leaders alike as of late after confirming that it had taken the decision to slash its timetable “until further notice” and had temporarily suspended ticket sales.

The train operator said it would continue with with “a reduced service”.

Train frequencies between the capital and Manchester have been reduced to as few as one per hour, rather than the usual three.

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Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said the move is “nothing short of a disgrace”.

Since the reduced timetable from Manchester to London came into operation, some passengers travelling on Avanti West Coast trains have been reporting scenes of chaos – including instances of “fights” over seat reservations.

Avanti West Coast adds extra services to London so mourners can pay respects to Queen Elizabeth II / Credit: Network Rail

Avanti has since apologised for the “enormous frustration and inconvenience”.

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And now, the rail operator has decided to add four extra services between 09:35 and 17:55 BST to the capital from Manchester, with four more then travelling in the opposite direction between 12:40 and 20:40, so that people can pay their respects to HM Queen Elizabeth II – who passed away at aged 96 on 8 September 2022.

Demand for trains to London is expected to be particularly heavy from today, when the public can attend the lying-in-state at Westminster Hall.

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Extra train services will be running throughout the country, with a limited night service on some routes.

Avanti said there will be three extra trains each way on Friday between the same times, and it claimed the extra services will add 16,000 seats.

HM Queen Elizabeth II died aged 96 on 8 September 2022 / Credit: Adrian Harlen (via Crown Copywright)

Speaking on the decision to increase services, a spokesperson from Avanti West Coast said: “We want to ensure that everyone who wants to travel on our trains to pay their respects can do so, and have been working hard to see where we can put on additional services for the period of mourning.”

The company has still said that passengers should expect some delays from a reduced timetable as it is currently experiencing staff shortages.

Avanti West Coast is also yet to make a decision about extra services to London at the weekend or Monday when the State Funeral will take place, but said it was “examining closely what opportunities there are for additional services”.

Featured Image – Avanti West Coast

News

Nurses across the UK say ‘enough is enough’ as they begin vote on strike action over pay

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Hundreds of thousands of NHS nurses nationwide have now begun casting their votes on whether to strike over pay.

This is the first ever UK-wide ballot by the history of the nursing industry’s largest union.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has this week asked 300,000 nurses if they want to begin a campaign for industrial action for the first time in its 106-year history – with the union urging its members to vote in favour of striking, and the union’s general secretary calling this a “once-in-a-generation chance” to make real change.

The vote comes amid warnings that nurses are leaving the profession in record numbers, and are unhappy with working conditions, staff shortages, and ultimately, pay.

The RCN said new analysis by London Economics found that pay for nurses has declined at twice the rate of the private sector in the last decade.

Their real-terms earnings are said to have fallen by 6%.

The RCN wants nurses to be given a pay rise in line with the rate of inflation – which is currently at a 40-year record high of 10.1%.

“Across the board, it’s unacceptable,” the RCN said on the opening of the ballot.

“We’re campaigning for a pay rise of 5% above inflation to overcome a decade of real-terms pay cuts, support nursing staff through the cost-of-living crisis, and recognise their safety critical skills [as] only by paying nursing staff fairly will we be able to retain existing and recruit new nursing staff to the safety critical roles they do.”

The union is urging its members, including those across Greater Manchester, to “make your mark on history” by voting for strike action.  

RCN General Secretary & Chief Executive Pat Cullen said the nation’s nurses are “understaffed, undervalued, and underpaid”.

Nurses across the UK say ‘enough is enough’ as they begin vote on strike action over pay / Credit: gov.uk

Calling on members to cast their votes, Ms Cullen said: “For years, our profession has been pushed to the edge, and now patient safety is paying the price.

“We can’t stand by and watch our colleagues and patients suffer anymore.   

“Though strike action is a last resort, it is a powerful tool for change, and we must demand that change. Enough is enough.

“I urge you to vote ‘yes’ in this ballot.” 

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She continued: “This is a once in a generation chance to improve your pay and combat the staff shortages that put patients at risk. Governments have repeatedly neglected the NHS and the value of nursing. We can change this if together we say ‘enough is enough’.

“Record numbers are feeling no alternative but to quit and patients pay a heavy price. We are doing this for them too. I have spoken with hundreds of you directly in recent weeks – it’s clear we need urgent change.

“Nursing is the best job in the world. Protect it with your vote.”

Featured Image – UKHSA

News

Signs say ‘Instagrammable’ Manchester restaurant Boujee is closed for good

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant

Less than two months after Boujee closed its site in Liverpool, signs have appeared outside the Manchester site showing that it has also suffered the same fate.

A handwritten note simply reading “closed, so sorry” has been taped to the all-pink restaurant and bar’s front door, whilst a second on the restaurant’s terrace, which had been taken over by pop-up venue Carnival, read: ‘we are extremely sorry but due to unforeseen circumstances we are left with no other options to close the venue.”

Image: Boujee

On the Boujee website, all traces of the Manchester venue have now been removed with just the Chester site now available to book online.

The news should not come as a surprise, given that the restaurant has appeared to be struggling for several months now.

Earlier this summer, staff walked out of the Liverpool site complaining of unpaid wages and tips. At the time, workers said that they had received just 40% of their expected wages on recent paydays and claimed that management had withheld their table service charges for months.

The pay dispute was reported in the Liverpool Echo, after staff told the paper some colleagues had walked out of shifts over the situation and that others were struggling to meet their rent and mortgage payments.

A company message was shared with Boujee’s staff at the end of June in an attempt to explain to workers why they had not received their full pay.

Read more: Unpaid wages and tips cause staff walk out at Boujee restaurant

It said: “It is with huge regret and disappointment that we are not able to pay the wages in their entirety today. We have exhausted every avenue and it is at the point where we require the revenue from this weekend and next in order to catch up and make the payments in full.

“Today we will be making a payment to all employees of 40 per cent of their total wage. On Monday we will make a second payment and this will be 30 per cent of their total wage plus 50 per cent of the service charge for the month.

“The following Monday we will pay the remaining 30 per cent and the remaining 50 per cent of the service charge.

“We are extremely sorry that it has come to this and I assure you we are doing all we can to get back on track and our team are vital in this path to recovery. We fully appreciate this is not acceptable and we thank you for your hard work, support and loyalty through what has been a very challenging time.”

Now, it appears that the business has had another setback as it has moved to close its Manchester site too.

Image: The Manc Group

The news follows an announcement from the former director and Real Housewive Of Cheshire star Lystra Adams who revealed last month that she had walked away from the business.

In a post on Instagram, Lystra wrote: “I’m walking away … As of yesterday 23/09/2022 I walked away from what I’ve know and loved for past near two years. As many of you may know I have given considerable time and dedication in building the brand and platform for myself.

“Over the past eight months things had taken a bumpy turn. I had confidence in that the board of directors would turn it around. Unfortunately mistakes were made along the way […] and it made the comeback near impossible.”

She continued: “As a 20-per-cent shareholder and the face of the business I want you to know that I did what I could with what I had. […] I’ve made my voice heard more than before as I dreaded this day would come. I’ve taken abuse in all forms for being the face of the companies involved as well as my daughter and enough is enough.

“Sorry it’s taken so long to speak out and I want to thank each and everyone that has visited or worked for Boujee and carnival from opening until now. All my love, Lystra.”

Feature image – The Manc Group

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