Business
Travel disruption for Tube passengers because of strikes
London Underground services were disrupted on Sunday at the start of walkouts by thousands of workers which will cause travel disruption in the capital.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), including drivers, signallers and maintenance workers, launched a series of strikes over pay and conditions which will lead to huge disruption for millions of travellers.
Transport for London (TfL) warned there will be few or no services between Monday and Thursday, as disruption started on Sunday.
TfL has offered a 3.4% pay rise which it described as “fair” and said it cannot afford to meet the RMT’s demand for a cut in the working week.
Nick Dent, London Underground’s (LU) director of customer operations, said union demands for a cut in the 35-hour week were “simply unaffordable” and would cost hundreds of millions of pounds.
The last Tube-wide strike was three years ago, over pay and pensions, but Mr Dent said next week’s action will be different because separate groups of workers will walk out on different days.
“It will be very damaging for us,” he added.
An RMT spokesperson said: “We are not going on strike to disrupt small businesses or the public.
“This strike is going ahead because of the intransigent approach of TfL management and their refusal to even consider a small reduction in the working week in order to help reduce fatigue and the ill health affects of long-term shift work on our members.
“We believe a shorter working week is fair and affordable, particularly when you consider TfL has a surplus of £166 million last year and a £10 billion annual operating budget.
“There are 2,000 fewer staff working on London Underground since 2018 and our members are feeling the strain of extreme shift patterns.
“London Underground is doing well financially and all our members want is fair consideration. But TfL is refusing to even consider marginally reducing the working week, citing costs ranging from tens of millions to now hundreds of millions.
“We remain open to talks, securing a negotiated settlement and call on the Mayor of London to intervene.”
Passengers have been urged to check before they travel, with Tubes that do run, as well as buses, which are expected to be busier than usual.
Docklands Light Railway services will also be hit next Tuesday and Thursday because of a strike by RMT members in a separate pay dispute.
The cost of travelling on the London Underground, the Overground and the Elizabeth line is set to rise by 5.8% next year, the mayor of London has confirmed.
The increase is 1% above the rate of inflation and will come into force in March.
The freeze in national rail fares announced last month will not apply to Transport for London services.
Sir Sadiq Khan says he proposes to freeze the price of Travelcards until March 2027 which means the weekly and daily caps will not change, and fares on London buses and trams will not rise.
The mayor said a rise – equivalent to one percentage point above the RPI rate of inflation – was a condition of the £2.2bn capital funding deal that TfL agreed with central government in the spending review in June.
He said the freeze on bus and tram fares until July 2026 was “an emergency cost-of-living measure” funded by City Hall.
Sir Sadiq added: “This is the seventh time I’ve been able to freeze bus and tram fares, and it will particularly benefit those on the lowest incomes in our city.
“The plans would mean that only fares on Tube and TfL rail services would now increase from March 2026.
“I also plan to ensure that increases to pay-as-you-go fares on the Tube will be capped at 20p, with many only rising by just 10p.”
City Hall Conservatives criticised the announcement.
In a statement, they said: “Whilst the rest of the country enjoys a fare freeze, Sadiq Khan has burdened Londoners with cost increases that are disproportionately going to affect the young professionals that are the backbone of our city’s economy, as well the other millions of passengers who use these services.”
The Liberal Democrats said the mayor had “failed to make this case to his ‘mates’ in government like he promised he would, he’s now expecting working Londoners to stump up the costs instead”.
The fare rises will apply to all TfL-run rail services, including the Docklands Light Railway.
The mayor said the increase would mean an off-peak pay-as-you-go Tube fare from Tottenham Court Road in Zone 1 to Edgware in Zone 5 would rise from £3.60 to £3.80.
Pay-as-you-go fares on Tube and TfL rail services within Zone 1 only will rise from £2.90 to £3.10 in the peak, and from £2.80 to £3.00 during off-peak and weekends.
A peak-time journey from Upminster in Zone 6 to Cannon Street in Zone 1 will increase from £5.80 to £5.90.
The government capital funding deal is expected to help to replace aging fleets, upgrade signalling technology and improve buses.
The fare rises will be subject to a final decision by the mayor.
Business
EPFO Offers Low-Penalty Route For Employers To Enrol Left-Out Employees, Check How To Do It
Last Updated:
EPFO launches a six-month window for employers to declare left-out employees under Employees Enrolment Scheme 2025.
Under existing rules, all employees earning up to Rs 15,000 in basic pay must be enrolled in EPFO schemes.
The Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has announced a six-month window for employers to declare left-out employees between July 01, 2017 and October 31, 2025. It will help them to regularise past compliance. It has the option to avail benefits under the Employees’ Enrolment Scheme 2025. The special six-month window is open between November 01, 2025 and April 30, 2026.
The regulator is offering several benefits to employers for declaring left-out employees under the scheme. One of the key benefits is a nominal penalty of Rs 100 per establishment for declaring left-out employees. Moreover, there will be no suo moto action during the scheme period against employers.
There is a provision to waive the employee share if not deducted.
All establishments, whether already covered or not covered under the
EPF & MP Act, 1952, are eligible to participate in the Employees’
Enrolment Campaign, 2025.
The objective of the EEC–2025 is to:
a. Facilitate voluntary compliance by employers in enrolling all eligible
employees left out of EPF coverage;
b. Enable employers to regularize past defaults with minimal penal
consequences; and
c. Broaden the social security coverage under the EPF & MP Act, 1952.
How Can They Declare?
Declarations can be filed online only through the EPFO Portal.
Employers will generate a Face Authentication–based UAN for
each declared employee using the UMANG App.
Contributions will be remitted using Electronic Challan-cum-Return
(ECR) linked to a Temporary Return Reference Number (TRRN)
generated during the declaration process.
Click here to add News18 as your preferred news source on Google. December 11, 2025, 18:31 IST
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Transport giant FirstGroup has expanded into sightseeing buses after snapping up an operator in London and Bath.
The FTSE 250 company told shareholders it has acquired the UK sightseeing operations of French firm RATP Developpement SA for about £17 million.
It said the deal will help to grow and diversify its operations across key markets.
The acquired business runs under the Tootbus brand and runs 63 buses, 42 in London and 21 in Bath.
The Tootbus business also includes a large freehold depot in Wandsworth, southwest London, and a leased depot in Keynsham, Bath.
It said the London depot will help the group manage its operations in the capital and allow it to bid for additional Transport for London red bus route contracts.
The business, which also runs the Airdecker service from Bath to Bristol airport, employs about 190 people across its operations.
Tootbus’s UK operations reported revenues of £15.9 million in 2023 and delivered a roughly £600,000 operating loss for the year, the company said.
Graham Sutherland, FirstGroup chief executive, said: “The acquisition of the bus operations in London and Bath, in line with our UK-focused growth and diversification strategy, will allow us to further diversify and expand our footprint in two of our key markets.
“The integration of the businesses will also create material operational and cost synergies and the opportunity to grow our London route portfolio over time.”
Shares in FirstGroup were 1.5% higher on Thursday.
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