Last chance to grab tickets for the Olympics

Early next month one million people who missed out in the Olympic ballots will be given the chance to buy tickets for the Games.

According to Justin King, who is Mayor of London representative for Locog board, during the first part of the process anyone who has previously applied in the first two rounds more than a year ago and still did not get any tickets, will get first bites at  them before they go on public sale.

However, once applicants have been awarded a ticket, they will not be able to re-enter.

The sale will last for a week and seats will be available across all sports.

There are also a million football tickets and 1.5 million Paralympics tickets still unsold. Overall, there are at least 3.5 million tickets still available.

Locog has rejected claims that it had held back seats to stimulate panic-buying. In fact, the last Olympics ticket race will be happening soon as venue capacities have been finally set.

There is a chance specific sports tickets like the athletics ones will be taken by those who have priority access to the final ballot, while only less popular sports tickets will effectively be on general sale.

100 days to go

It is a gold stamp

First-class stamps will increase from 46p to 60p while second-class ones will soar by more than a third from 36p to 50p.

Royal Mail will be raising prices from April 30 in order to return the universal service to sustainability.

The government-owned postal service in fact, is under threat from 25 per cent drop in postal volumes and losses of about £1billion over the last four years. Volumes are expected to continue to fall as electronic alternatives have replaced letters both within companies and private households.

Despite the current economic climate, price increases are needed to safeguard the UK’s postal service.

Royal Mail (RM) chief executive Moya Greene said that the increase will restore RM finances and maintain the universal, six-day-a week and high-quality service.

Posting a large letter will cost 90p for first class and will go up to 69p for second class. The overall rise is the biggest since the mid-Seventies and customers are joining the queue at post offices and outlets across the country to secure a reasonable allocation of stamps before the end of the months.

However, according to the Communication Workers Union, the move comes directly from the government and is the natural progression towards full competition and privatisation.

Tube drivers welcome the Olympics

London Underground staff could make a massive income from working during the Olympic Games.

According to a senior Aslef source a driver working all the opening ceremony, all the weekend shifts and late nights could earn an extra £6,200.

The offer was made by London Underground (LU) following months of tense negotiations with the drivers’ union and terms are due to be agreed next week.

Payments include up to £1,000 for reporting for duty, £400 extra for key shifts such as the opening ceremony and up to £285 for shifts which extend beyond 1.30am.

Also the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RTM) has agreed Olympic payments of £500 for Network staff and £600 for London Overground workers. Meanwhile, more than 500 members of Docklands Light Railway (DLR) staff will get a 25% rise in the standard overtime rate during the Games.

The overall offer covers nine weeks to the end of the Paralympics and was made despite pressure for public sector pay freezes.

It shows the power transport unions have in London this summer as drivers will be required to transport most of the one million spectators travelling from and to the Olympic venues everyday.

The cost of Tube Olympic bonuses alone for all 16,000 staff on duty is expected to be about £20 million which will be paid with the taxpayer-funded £9,3billion budget for 2012.