Tube strike cancelled, Monarch's collapse hits taxpayers, and more news

BREAKING: London Underground drivers have called off the 24-hour strike they had planned for Thursday after progress was made in talks between Transport for London and the Aslef drivers' union. Rail strikes are still taking place elsewhere England, causing disruption to thousands of passengers. RMT union members working at Southern, Merseyrail, Arriva Rail North and Greater Anglia went on strike this morning over staffing and the controversial decision to scrap train guards. The RMT members are planning another walk-out on Thursday.

Also: Paper train tickets will soon be scrapped across most of the UK, according to Transport Secretary Chris Grayling; passengers will be able to use mobile phones and smartcards to travel across most of the network by the end of next year. The government will spend ￡80m to bring paperless tap-in and tap-out technology to the train network. Speaking at the Conservative Party Conference, he also revealed all trains in the north of England would either be revamped or replaced by 2020.

Monarch’s collapse is set to cost the UK government ￡60m as it pays out for replacement flights to bring home the 110,000 holidaymakers and business travellers stranded overseas. The UK’s fifth-biggest airline ceased trading early on Monday, leading to nearly 1,900 job losses as well as the cancellation of all its flights and holidays. The Department for Transport is looking to reduce the ￡60m cost to taxpayers by sharing the bill (paywall) with credit card companies and tour operators.

Ryanair is once again facing scrutiny over its employment practices after HMRC launched investigations into the way in which it employs pilots. Accountants of the no-frills airline reportedly encourage pilots to establish limited companies in Ireland and work for Ryanair through an agency, ultimately curbing the firm’s obligation to provide benefits such as sick pay. Just last month, a group of pilots branded Ryanair a “disgrace” when it missed a deadline to respond to their demands for improved employment terms. The flights of some 700,000 Ryanair passengers were also cancelled recently after the airline admitted to having "messed up" holiday schedules for its pilots.

Key UK industries are feeling the effects of Brexit uncertainty, with construction activity dropping to its lowest level since before the June 2016 referendum. According to a closely-watched industry survey, commercial development projects saw their worst month since February 2013, as concerns over economic and political uncertainty contribute to “fragile confidence and subdued risk appetite” (paywall). The Bank of England also warned today that lending to UK businesses shrink after Britain exits the EU in March 2019: Companies from European Economic Area countries currently provide about 10% of all lending to UK businesses, but the Bank claims many are failing to make the necessary preparations to keep operating in the UK post-Brexit.

Idea of the Day: Leaders at all levels should consider being a coach or a mentor, says emotional intelligence expert Daniel Goleman. “Every leader can be a coach and mentor, regardless of their formal role or level in an organization,” Goleman writes.

“High-performing leaders know the effort they put into coaching and mentoring others pays off not only in the productivity, job satisfaction, and career growth of subordinates, but also in their own status within their organization.”

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