Gatwick Airport avoids two weekends of strikes

London's Gatwick Airport appears to have avoided significant disruption this weekend as a majority of workers accepted improved wage offers, cancelling imminent strikes.

The workers had planned to strike on two successive weekends commencing July 28 and August 4 after unsuccessful talks over pay and working conditions.

Ground handlers employed by four companies at Gatwick – ASC, Menzies Aviation, GGS and DHL Services – were part of the planned walk out.

On Wednesday, the Unite union announced workers at ASC and Menzies Aviation had accepted new pay deals, calling off strikes planned at Gatwick this weekend.

ASC workers, servicing Tui flights, agreed to a "double-digit pay rise," while Menzies Aviation staff, under a Wizz Air contract, approved a 13 per cent pay increase for ground-handling staff and a 17 per cent boost for the lowest-paid employees.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham praised the "excellent" deals and credited the results to unionised workers standing strong during talks.

This week about 600 DHL employees, who work under an easyJet contract, also called off their planned strike over the next two weekends after they accepted a 15 per cent pay raise, along with an increase for night shifts.

Meanwhile, staff at GGS, which serves British Airways and Vueling, remain locked in negotiations, potentially putting an end to all strike actions at Gatwick this month and next.

The union has committed to making further announcements on the GGS decision soon, including whether strikes planned from Friday, August 4 to Tuesday, August 8 would proceed.

Pay agreement comes after travel chaos at Gatwick

Cancellations and delays at London's Gatwick Airport left thousands of passengers stranded earlier this week.

Up to 11,000 people were affected due to adverse weather and staff shortages, resulting in the cancellation of more than 70 flights.

Unexpected thunderstorms across Europe coupled with air-traffic control staff shortages led to one-tenth of flights being cancelled within 24 hours.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Engine 3.5L V6

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The biog

Title: General Practitioner with a speciality in cardiology

Previous jobs: Worked in well-known hospitals Jaslok and Breach Candy in Mumbai, India

Education: Medical degree from the Government Medical College in Nagpur

How it all began: opened his first clinic in Ajman in 1993

Family: a 90-year-old mother, wife and two daughters

Remembers a time when medicines from India were purchased per kilo

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

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