Covid-19 funds are running out. But 'the virus is not waiting for Congress to act.'

Daily Briefing

Biden administration officials on Wednesday called on Congress to provide more Covid-19 funding, warning that Covid-19 treatment and vaccine supplies, as well as relief funds for health care providers, could be cut back soon.

 
Background

Earlier this month, Democrats and Republicans in the House agreed to provide $15.6 billion in funding for Covid-19 vaccines and treatments as part of a larger $1.5 trillion omnibus bill.

The CFO’s guide to navigating federal funding sources of Covid-19 relief

However, House Republicans argued the Covid-19 funding would need to be offset by tapping into $7.1 billion in coronavirus relief funds that have yet to be distributed to 30 states. This led House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to cut the Covid-19 funds from the omnibus bill so the issue could be debated and passed separately.

Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) argued that undistributed coronavirus relief funds, many of which are included in state budgets, require a different solution.

"There's no justification for the unspent money that is parked in Washington to be used as a pay-for from the 30 states, and the unspent money that is parked in a state capital to be allowed to remain," he said. "It was just the disparate treatment that was not acceptable."

However, Senate Republicans have argued that an accounting of how coronavirus relief funds have been spent by states needs to occur before additional funds are passed.

"The basic thing we ought to figure out is, is there a need?" Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) said. "Secondly, if there's a need, where's all the money we appropriated?"

Liz Bourgeois, a spokesperson for the Treasury Department, said, "Ultimately local governments are accountable to their communities on their decisions on how to best use their funds."
The impact of lack of funds

Without additional funding, significant cutbacks could be coming to Covid-19 response programs, White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients said on Wednesday. "The consequences of congressional inaction are severe, and they are immediate," he said.

"The virus is not waiting for Congress to act," Zients said. "With every minute this funding request is stalled, we're losing the ability to protect people and be prepared."

According to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, a lack of funding has led the administration to reduce its supply of monoclonal antibody treatments by 35% and scale back its plans to purchase Evusheld, a preventive treatment for immunocompromised people developed by AstraZeneca.

In addition, as of early April, the federal government will no longer cover the cost of Covid-19 testing and treatments for the uninsured, Becerra said, meaning medical bills for uninsured patients will depend on prices and financial aid policies at each hospital.

"Covid is a highly infectious disease, so we want people who think they might be sick to get tested and treated, not only for their health but for the community as well," said Larry Levitt, a health policy expert at the Kaiser Family Foundation. "If uninsured people now hesitate to get care because of the cost, we'll see more cases and greater inequity."

In addition, sources told Politico the Biden administration is considering recommending an additional booster shot for older Americans by early April—however, if additional boosters are needed for all Americans, the United States won't have enough supply, according to Zients.

"We have enough inventory of vaccines to support possible fourth doses this spring," Zients said. "However, if the science shows that fourth doses are needed for the general population later this year, we will not have the supply necessary to ensure shots are available ... Furthermore, if things change, and if there's a need for that new vaccine, a new formulation, for example, a very specific vaccine, we won't be able to secure doses for the American people and we won’t be able to ensure America is first in line for them."

Administration officials told the Washington Post that, while Covid-19 cases are relatively low now, placing orders for vaccines and treatments ahead of a potential surge is important and has been a key lesson during the pandemic.

"Vaccines don't just appear when you snap your fingers and say, 'Okay, I want the vaccine.' We've got to make it," one official said. "And this year, it's going to be more complicated because there's a very significant chance—although we're still waiting for data—that the vaccines are going to need to be tweaked to cover omicron."

As a result of a lack of funding, the administration also said it's ending the provider relief fund, which was created in 2020 to help hospitals and community health centers experiencing lower revenue or increased expenses due to the pandemic.

The American Hospital Association (AHA) on Wednesday urged Congress to provide more funds for the program to address the "tremendous financial strain" both the delta and omicron variants have caused.

"While the nation remains weary and is eager to move past this pandemic, the virus continues to evolve and pose a threat to our nation's health care system," AHA wrote in a letter to congressional leaders. "The recent surge of cases and hospitalizations abroad fueled by the omicron variant known as BA.2 serves as a critical warning: The battle is not over, and hospitals and health systems continue to need resources and flexibilities to care for patients and protect communities."

 (Lovelace, NBC News, 3/23; Mahr, Politico, 3/23; AHA News, 3/23; Armour/Siddiqui, Wall Street Journal, 3/22; Alonso-Zaldivar, Associated Press, 3/22; Cancryn/Banco, Politico, 3/23; Diamond et al., Washington Post, 3/22; Weiss et al., Roll Call, 3/9; Stolberg/Ngo, New York Times, 3/9; Slodysko, Associated Press, 3/23)

Putin ‘has already declared May 9 as the “END” of the war in Ukraine - matching the SAME date as Russia defeated the Nazis in WW2’, Kyiv official claims

The Armed Forces of Ukraine claimed Putin is planning to end the war on May 9

Russia holds an extravagant victory day parade in Moscow every year on May 9

It marks the day Nazi Germany surrendered, bringing World War Two to an end

Armed Forces also claimed medical institutions are filled by Russian servicemen

By STEPHEN WYNN-DAVIES FOR MAILONLINE
 25 March 2022

Vladimir Putin has already declared the 'end' of the war in Ukraine, officials in Kyiv have claimed, matching the same date Russia celebrates defeating the Nazis in World War Two.

The general staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Russian propaganda 'imposes the idea that the war must be completed before the 9th of May 2022'.

Russia holds an extravagant victory day parade in Moscow's Red Square on that date every year to mark Nazi Germany's surrender and the end of the Second World War.

In a Facebook post, the general staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said: 'According to the available information, among the personnel of the armed forces of the Russian Federation, propaganda work is constantly being carried out, which imposes the idea that the war must be completed before the 9th of May 2022.'

They also claimed Russia's medical institutions, set up in territory close to the border with Ukraine, are 'occupied by wounded servicemen of the Russian Federation who took part in the war against Ukraine and encountered units of the defence forces in combat'.

Pictured: Servicewomen march in formation during a dress rehearsal of a Victory Day military parade marking the 76th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, in Moscow's Red Square, May 7, 2021

Pictured: Russian military planes fly over Red Square leaving trails of smoke in colours of national flag during a dress rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia, Friday, May 7, 2021

The Ukrainian armed forces post added: 'As a matter of urgency, the enemy is taking measures to renew the combat capability of the air units of the airborne troops, which had suffered critical losses both in manpower and military equipment.'

The Ukrainian armed forces said Russian occupants are facing 'enormous difficulties' in Ukrainian towns and cities and 'do not have the support from the local population'.

They claimed that, in Crimea, a Russian brigade held a ceremony for 100 deceased members of the unit. They said similar scenes have been seen in the city of Sevastopol where they claimed marines in the Black Sea fleet have been killed.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces update said Russian troops had set up a 'filtration camp' in Dokuchaivsk, in the Donetsk region, for civilians who attempt to flee the besieged city of Mariupol.

They claimed people have been forced to evacuate Kreminna and Rubizhne before being deported to the Voronezh region and that tractors are being seized from farmers in the Chernihiv region, while Ukrainian troops carried out artillery fire on a Russian tank regiment in the Kharviv region.

Russia's huge Second World War victory celebration is held every year, a day after Western Europe celebrates VE Day on May 8 due to the time difference between Russia and other Soviet Bloc countries, and Central European Time.

Victory Day in Russia is a national holiday, closing most public offices, schools and businesses, and due to other more Pro-Russian countries broadcasting the Russian president's victory day speech, the event is one of the world's most watched occasions of the year.

In 2020, the event was postponed until later in the year due to the coronavirus pandemic, despite it being the significant 75th anniversary of the Nazi surrender in 1945, at 23:01 Central European Time.

For Moscow, which is on Moscow Standard Time, the end to the war in Europe came past midnight, meaning the country celebrates a day later.

Putin ordered for the 2020 event to go ahead on June 24, using around 14,000 soldiers that had already had coronavirus, and thus had developed immunity against the virus.

In 2021, the event went ahead as usual despite Russia recording at least 8,000 new infections daily at the time.

A man flees with his belongings as fire engulfs a vehicle and building following artillery fire on the 30th day on the invasion of the Ukraine by Russian forces in the northeastern city of Kharkiv

Civilians flee from the city of Kharkiv, in north east Ukraine, against the backdrop of a burning vehicle which was destroyed by Russian shelling attacks on Friday

Firefighters battle a blaze in Kharkiv, north-east Ukraine, after the city was hit by shelling in the early hours of Friday - hitting a humanitarian aid centre which killed at least four people

With Russian advances at a standstill across Ukraine, Kyiv's men are increasingly looking to go on the counter-attack - striking to the west and east of Kyiv, attacking Kherson from Mykolaiv, and trying to blunt a Russian pincer movement to encircle troops in the Donbass at Malynivka and Izyum

Russia's war in Ukraine - intended to be a days-long military mission to decapitate the government and bring the country back under Moscow's influence - is now grinding into its second month with huge losses for both sides.

About 300 people were killed in a Russian airstrike last week that blasted open a Mariupol theater, Ukrainian authorities said Friday, in what would make it the war's deadliest known attack on civilians yet.

In an attempt to protect the hundreds of people taking cover inside the theater, 'CHILDREN' in Russian had been printed in huge white letters on the ground in two places outside the grand, columned building to make it visible from the air.

For days, the government in the besieged and ruined city of Mariupol was unable to give a casualty count for the March 16 attack.

In announcing the death toll on its Telegram channel Friday, it cited eyewitnesses. But it was not immediately clear whether emergency workers had finished excavating the ruins of the Mariupol Drama Theater or how witnesses arrived at the figure.

Still, the emerging picture is certain to fuel allegations Moscow has committed war crimes by killing civilians, whether deliberately or by indiscriminate fire. And it could increase pressure on NATO to step up military aid.

The alliance has refused so far to supply warplanes or establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine for fear of getting into a war with Russia.

Russian armoured vehicles unload troops on the outskirts of Mariupol as the city falls further into Moscow's hands

Russian forces are pictured rolling into Mariupol as civilians file out, after the city was largely destroyed by bombardment

A Russian armoured vehicle with a 'Z' invasion symbol painted on the front is seen driving into Mariupol, as large parts of the city fall under the control of Putin's forces

Counter-attacks continue to the east and west of Kyiv, with the village of Lukyanivka back in Ukrainian hands on Friday morning while heavy fighting has been reported at Borodyanka as Kyiv's men try to encircle Russian troops there

It comes as Vladimir Putin today accused the West of trying to cancel Russia during an extraordinary rant amidst the faltering war in Ukraine.

The US, EU and UK have hammered Russia with sanctions in the wake of Putin's attack on Ukraine - cutting it off from banking systems and trade - while Western brands withdraw leaving his economy in tatters.

But Putin took take particular ire with the decision of some Western institutions to remove works by Russian artists, authors and composers in response to the war.

In Ukrainian towns and cities that day by day increasingly resemble the ruins that Russian forces left behind in its campaigns in Syria and Chechnya, the misery for civilians grows ever more acute.

In the capital, Kyiv, ashes of the dead are piling up at the main crematorium because so many relatives have left, leaving urns unclaimed. The besieged northern city of Chernihiv is now all but cut off.

Chernihiv first lost its main road bridge over the Desna River to a Russian airstrike this week. Follow-up shelling damaged a pedestrian bridge, trapping remaining inhabitants inside the city without power, water and heat, authorities said. More than half of Chernihiv's pre-war population of 285,000 is thought to have fled.

For the vulnerable - the elderly, children and others unable to join millions heading westward - food shortages loom in a country once known as the breadbasket for the world.

In relentlessly shelled Kharkiv, mostly elderly women lined up stoically to collect food and other urgent supplies this week, as explosions thudded in the distance. Fidgeting with anticipation, a young girl watched as a volunteer's knife cut through a giant slab of cheese, carving out thick slices, one for each hungry person.

Son of murdered Malta journalist keeps up her fight

Seven men have either been accused or admitted complicity in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia but her son says "the lack of a single conviction for corruption" will have a lasting impact 

(AFP/Matthew MIRABELLI) 

Alice RITCHIE
Fri, March 25, 2022

More than four years after journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was murdered in Malta, her family is still fighting for action to address the political corruption she exposed.

"There is still not enough of a deterrent towards organised crime and corruption," her son Matthew told AFP ahead of Saturday's election, in which the ruling Labour Party is expected to be re-elected.

Seven men have either been accused or admitted complicity in her murder, but he fears "the lack of a single conviction for corruption" will have a lasting impact.

"It sends a message to the wider public in a trickledown way that corruption is acceptable as long as you can get away with it," he said.

Caruana Galizia was speaking from the family's rural home near Bidnija, not far from where his mother's car was blown up on October 16, 2017, in a murder that shocked the tiny Mediterranean island nation.

A large photograph of her still marks the spot where the wreckage was found by the side of the road, while on a nearby tree, purple ribbons are tied to branches in tribute.

Before her death, she faced constant harassment for her work exposing links between top members of Labour prime minister Joseph Muscat's government and senior Maltese businessmen.

A public inquiry last year found no evidence of state involvement in her assassination, but found it created a "climate of impunity" for those who wanted to silence her.

Muscat resigned in January 2020, following public protests at his perceived efforts to protect friends and allies from the investigation, and was replaced by Labour colleague Robert Abela.

Abela has moved to strengthen the rule of law and better protect journalists, but Caruana Galizia says it does not go far enough.

The inquiry represented for Malta a "once-in-a-generation opportunity to go one way or the other, to look towards the past or look towards a future that is free from corruption," he said.

But he said it "needs to be followed through", warning "root and branch reform" is needed.

- Anti-mafia laws rejected -

The inquiry found an "orchestrated plan" from the top of government to suppress Daphne Caruana Galizia's investigations, and condemned the inaction of institutions that should have followed up her work -- and protected her.

Abela has moved to limit the prime minister's powers over the appointment of judges and the police commissioner, and has charged a committee of experts to examine how better to protect journalists in Malta.

The government has also proposed legal changes to protect against so-called strategic lawsuits against public prosecution (SLAPPs) -- expensive, baseless legal proceedings used by the rich and powerful to silence journalists.

Matthew Caruana Galizia welcomed these moves, but said Abela "rejected anti-mafia and anti-abuse of power legislation out of hand, which is a bit disappointing."

On the media, there were also many other issues to address, not least the fact that Malta's main parties own television channels and radio stations, which Caruana Galizia said "is strangling independent media".

Abela's dodging of reporters and refusal to give interviews hardly inspires confidence in his efforts to protect media freedom, he added.

- 'Golden passports' -

Outside Malta's law courts in the capital Valletta, a shrine remains to Daphne Caruana Galizia, with candles, flowers and signs demanding "Justice for Daphne".

The economy has dominated the election campaign but many voters still evoke her name as a reminder of how much their country needs to do.

The opposition Nationalist Party has been pressing the issue, highlighted the grey-listing of Malta last year by an anti-money laundering body.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine also shone a spotlight on Malta's "golden passports" scheme, which offers citizenship to wealthy investors.

Under pressure, the government suspended it for Russians and Belarusians, but Caruana Galizia insisted: "The scheme needs to be scrapped in its entirety."

- 'Not revenge' -

Malta's Chamber of Commerce rejects any suggestion that the country is widely corrupt.

But Matthew Caruana Galizia says "it's a problem across the board" -- and said nothing will change until Labour acknowledges the scale of what happened.

"The core of the Labour Party needs to be changed," he said.

The 36-year-old seems both energised and exhausted by his campaign, but insists the family will keep on fighting.

"My main concern is not revenge, it's the deterrent effect. We want to make sure that this never happens again, not just my mother's murder but the corruption that led up to it," he said.

Malta's government did not respond to a request for comment for this article.

ar/ide/fg

Sign of things to come? Royals' Caribbean tour hit by protests


In Jamaica, Prince William and his wife Catherine faced protests for the royal family to apologise for slavery and pay reparations 

(AFP/Ricardo Makyn)

William's father, Prince Charles, has previously called slavery 'an appalling atrocity

... which forever stains our history' 

(AFP/POOL)


Anti-racism protesters toppled the statue of a 17th century slave trader and threw it in Bristol harbour, as part of anger at Britain's colonial past 

(AFP/Handout)


Prime Minister Andrew Holness indicated Jamaica would seek to become a republic, severing ties with the British monarchy 

(AFP/Ricardo Makyn)

The British royals' pivotal role in the slave trade goes back to the 16th century, when the first queen Elizabeth sponsored one of its first major proponents, John Hawkins 

(AFP/CHANDAN KHANNA)



Phil HAZLEWOOD
Fri, 25 March 2022

Prince William's trip to the Caribbean was meant to help Commonwealth countries where his 95-year-old grandmother is also head of state celebrate her record-breaking 70 years on the throne.

But what were designed to be carefully choreographed photocalls and public appearances for Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee did not go entirely to plan.

Instead, William, 39, and his wife Catherine, 40, faced calls to apologise for the slave trade that help make his ancestors' fortunes and to atone for the sins of the past.

The Bahamas National Reparations Committee said Britain's royals had benefited from the "blood, sweat and tears" of slaves and called for reparations.

Colonised lands and people had been "looted and pillaged" by the UK monarchy over centuries, leaving them under-developed in the modern age, it added.

In Jamaica, meanwhile, Prime Minister Andrew Holness pointedly told the Duke of Cambridge -- as he is formally known -- in front of television cameras that the nation was "moving on" as an independent country.

By doing so, he gave William's father Prince Charles another indication of what he could face when he is king, after Barbados became a republic last year.

On the streets of Jamaica's capital, Kingston, the Rastafarian dub poet Mutabaruka said ditching the queen would make little difference to ordinary people.

"Making Jamaica a republic will not change the price of food but it has a psychological implication on the mind and the consciousness of the people," he told the Jamaica Observer newspaper.

"It has an internal significance to how we view ourselves."

Shop owner Tameka Thomas put it more bluntly. "It's time to change now. Queen Elizabeth is queen in England, not Jamaica. She should stay in England," she told AFP.

- No apology -

British royals' pivotal role in the slave trade goes back to the 16th century, when the first queen Elizabeth sponsored one of its first major proponents, John Hawkins.

King Charles II in the 1600s encouraged the expansion of the trade and with his brother, the future king James II, invested private funds in the Royal African Company.

The company transported hundreds of thousands of men, women and children from the continent across the Atlantic. Many were branded with the company's initials.

King George III's son, who became king William IV, opposed slavery abolitionists but was unsuccessful. Britain banned the transatlantic slave trade in 1807 and in all its territories in 1833.

Modern royals have addressed slavery in the past, most recently in Barbados, when Charles called it an "appalling atrocity... which forever stains our history".

In Jamaica, William echoed his father's words, expressing his "profound sorrow" and calling the practice "abhorrent". "It should never have happened," he said.

But so far, no formal apology has been made.

The visit came as Britain increasingly confronts its colonial past, in particular its memorials to historical figures.

Last December, four people were cleared of criminal damage after a statue of a 17th century slave trader was toppled during a Black Lives Matter anti-racism protest in Bristol.

Just this week, a Cambridge University college was told its bid to remove a memorial to a donor who had links to the Royal African Company was unsuccessful.

- 'Read the room' -

For Olivette Otele, professor of the history of slavery and memory of enslavement at the University of Bristol, the protests were "not unexpected".

She noted various contentions foreshadowed the visit, including the global Black Lives Matter movement, the debate back home, and anger at treatment of Caribbean migrants who moved to Britain after World War II.

Thousands of the so-called "Windrush generation" were later wrongfully detained or deported, despite having arrived legally.

"Apologies have never been enough. They are an important step," said Otele.

"Nowadays people want to see more. They want to see change. They know there's a relationship between past and present."

But the royal family and the British government had not made that link and were not part of any meaningful conversation about how to make amends, she added.

One of numerous critics writing in the Washington Post called the visit a "colonial tour" and outdated charm offensive that was "more offensive than charming".

Otele, a vice-president of the Royal Historical Society, said the royals "need to read the room".

"Things are changing. If it (the visit) is about keeping these countries and the queen as head of state, they might not have understood there is a broader debate there," she noted.

"It's about inequalities, about poverty and the legacies of the past.

"As wonderful as the jubilee might be here, it seems awkward to expect people to celebrate without looking at what's happening there."

str-phz/jj/har

Thousands flee after Philippine volcano erupts


Thousands flee after Philippine volcano erupts

Taal volcano exploded early Saturday morning 

(AFP/Handout)

Mikhail FLORES
Sat, March 26, 2022, 3:41 AM·2 min read

Thousands of people fled their homes near a Philippine volcano Saturday after an eruption sent ash and steam hundreds of metres into the sky.

Taal volcano, which sits in a picturesque lake south of Manila, exploded with a "short-lived" burst at 7:22 am (2322 GMT), the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said in a statement.

It warned further eruptions were possible, which it said could trigger dangerous, fast-moving volcanic flows of gas, ash and debris, as well as a tsunami.

Residents in five fishing and farming settlements around the lake were ordered to leave their homes, in the third mass evacuation in as many years around one of the country's most active volcanoes.

"It rained mud," said Cornelia Pesigan, 25, who sought shelter at a school outside the seven-kilometre (4.3-mile) "danger zone".

"It smelled really bad and I had difficulty breathing," the mother-of-two added.

The initial eruption was followed by "nearly continuous phreatomagmatic activity" that sent plumes stretching 1,500 metres (4,900 feet) into the air, the seismological agency said, raising the alert level from two to three on a scale of zero to five.

A phreatomagmatic eruption happens when molten rock comes into contact with underground or surface water, said Princess Cosalan, a scientist at the agency, likening it to pouring "water on a hot pan".

Cosalan told AFP that ash and steam emissions had quietened in the hours after the initial burst, but said the institute's on-site sensors continued to detect volcanic earthquakes and another eruption was "possible".

The agency's chief, Renato Solidum, said the activity was weaker than in January 2020, when Taal shot ash 15 kilometres high and spewed red-hot lava, crushing scores of homes, killing livestock and sending tens of thousands into shelters.

"There is no threat beyond the... five villages," Solidum said.

More than 12,000 people live in the most vulnerable communities, according to the latest available official data.

Police have been deployed to stop people entering the high-risk zones, while aviation authorities warned airlines and pilots of potential hazards from volcanic ash in the atmosphere.

The Philippines is hit periodically by eruptions and earthquakes due to its location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" -- a zone of intense seismic activity.

Access to the volcano island, which was once home to a community of thousands, has been prohibited since the 2020 eruption.

Last July, the seismological agency raised the alert level to three after Taal burst to life again.

It belched sulphur dioxide for several days, creating a thick haze over the capital and surrounding provinces.

The alert level was lowered back to two before Saturday's eruption.

mff-cgm/amj/axn

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

P&O Ferries boss urged to quit after 'brazen' comments about breaking the law

Chief executive Peter Hebblethwaite has been blasted after he admitted the firm broke the law

By Paul Hutcheon

Political Editor, 

Daily Record

25 MAR 2022

'HE'LL HAVE TO GO' - GRANT SHAPPS GIVES BLUNT REVIEW OF P&O BOSS AND EXPLAINS NEXT STEPS FROM GOVERNMENT

Transport secretary Grant Shapps has called for the boss of P&O Ferries to resign after his “brazen” comments about “knowingly breaking the law” and vowed to force the company to “U-turn” and pay its crews the minimum wage.

Chief executive Peter Hebblethwaite admitted the ferry giant broke employment law when it sacked 800 workers without notice.

The Transport Secretary told Sky News on Friday: “I thought what the boss of P&O Ferries said yesterday about knowingly breaking the law was brazen and breathtaking, and showed incredible arrogance.

“I cannot believe that he can stay in that role having admitted to deliberately go out and use a loophole – well, break the law, but also use a loophole.”

Pressed on whether that meant he was calling for Hebblethwaite to resign “right now”, he said: “Yes.”

On Thursday, Hebblethwaite was urged by MPs to quit after acknowledging there is “absolutely no doubt” the ferry operator was required to consult with trade unions.

The company replaced its crews with cheaper agency workers last week.

P&O' Ferries' Peter Hebblethwaite (Image: Universal News & Sport (Europe)

P&O chief exec admits firm broke the law yet insists he would make same decision again

Basit Mahmood 

Yesterday

The P&O Ferries boss went on to reveal to MPs he is paid a basic salary of £325,000 a year.

The chief executive of P&O Ferries has admitted that the firm broke the law when it decided to sack 800 workers without consultation or notice, while at the same time insisting that he would make the same decision again.

Peter Hebblethwaite appeared before MPs yesterday, where he admitted that there was ‘absolutely no doubt’ the company was required to consult with unions before taking action.

He was interrupted by Labour MP Andy McDonald who asked: “So you chose to break the law? Hebblethwaite continued: “We chose not to consult and we are – and will – compensate everybody in full for that.”

In an extraordinary exchange, McDonald then asked: “When you get in your car and drive on the motorway [and] see the 70mph sign, do you decide that’s not going to apply to me? I’m going to do 90 because I think it’s important that I do that? Is that how you go about your life?”

Appearing before the Transport and Business Select Committees, Hebblethwaite was also asked if he would make the decision again, to which he replied he would as it has saved the business.

Earlier this month, P&O Ferries sacked 800 staff that work on its vessels with immediate effect, with plans to use cheap agency staff on its ships instead.

The leading UK ferry operator sacked its staff without notice or consultation. The move sparked outrage among workers, many of whom refused to leave the ships and security guards were seen placing handcuffs on them as they were told to remove workers.

P&O’s decision to sack its workforce in such a callous manner received widespread condemnation from across the political spectrum, with the government calling the treatment of workers ‘wholly unacceptable’.

The P&O Ferries boss went on to reveal to MPs he is paid a basic salary of £325,000 a year. Asked about whether he would be accepting a bonus following the sackings, he refused to rule it out, saying: “I don’t know the answer to that.”

Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward

Tories slammed for ‘crocodile tears’ over P&O workers after blocking law aimed at banning Fire and Rehire

Last year, the government blocked a new law to curb businesses' ability to fire and rehire.


Basit Mahmood 18 March, 2022 

Tory MPs and ministers are today being slammed for their hypocrisy and for ‘shedding crocodile tears’ over the 800 workers sacked by P&O, after it was pointed out that the government blocked a law last year that would’ve banned fire and rehire and curbed the very practices carried out by P&O.

P&O Ferries sacked 800 staff that work on its vessels with immediate effect, with plans to use cheap agency staff on its ships instead.

The leading UK ferry operator sacked its staff without notice or consultation. The move sparked outrage among workers, many of whom refused to leave the ships and security guards were seen placing handcuffs on them as they were told to remove workers.

The company has been condemned, including by the government. Robert Courts, parliamentary under-secretary for transport said: “Reports of workers being given zero notice and escorted off their ships… shows the insensitive way in which P&O have approached this issue.”

P&O plan to replace sacked workers with cheaper agency staff and are encouraging former staff to apply for agency work, in a practice known as ‘fire and rehire’, whereby sacked staff are rehired on worse terms and conditions.

Last year, the government blocked a new law to curb businesses’ ability to fire and rehire. The private members bill put forward by Labour MP Barry Gardiner also said employees should be ‘fully consulted on any fire-and-rehire plans’.

Yet Tory MPs who are today condemning P&O seem to have forgotten that they blocked a bill designed to stop this exact situation.

Jo Maugham, director of the Good Law Project tweeted: “In the Summer of last year

@BarryGardiner introduced a Private Members Bill that would have made it a criminal offence to do what P&O Ferries did yesterday. But a Government Minister ‘talked it out’ (i.e. killed it).”

In response to Grant Shapps claiming that he was concerned about the news from P&O ferries, one social media user wrote: “In October, you and your colleagues were on a three-line whip to oppose Barry Gardiner’s bill to ban “fire and rehire” as many European governments have already done. Reports this evening say you knew about P&O’s plans on Wednesday. How “concerned” are you?”

Another social media user wrote: “12 years committing to blatantly anti-foreigner policies and then uproar cos we can’t take refugees. 12 years suppressing trade union power & workers rights then uproar cos P&O sack 800 workers. Tories own these. Ignore their crocodile tears – they don’t give a s***.”

Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward

Fresh calls to ban fire and rehire after P&O Ferries sacks entire UK workforce and replaces them with agency workers

'Fire and rehire must end. This is destroying lives'

Basit Mahmood

 18 March, 2022 

Fresh calls are being made for the government to outlaw the shameful practice of fire and rehire, after P&O Ferries sacked 800 staff that work on its vessels with immediate effect, with plans to use cheap agency staff on its ships instead.

The leading UK ferry operator sacked its staff without notice or consultation. The move sparked outrage among workers, many of whom refused to leave the ships and security guards were seen placing handcuffs on them as they were told to remove workers.

P&O’s decision to sack its workforce in such a callous manner received widespread condemnation from across the political spectrum, with the government calling the treatment of workers ‘wholly unacceptable’.

“Reports of workers being given zero notice and escorted off their ships… shows the insensitive way in which P&O have approached this issue,” said Robert Courts, parliamentary under secretary for transport.

Labour leader Keir Starmer said that the company ‘must not be allowed to get away’ with the mass sacking. Starmer also tweeted: “What P&O Ferries have done is disgusting.

“If the Conservatives had introduced stronger employment rights, as Labour proposed, they would never have been able to get away with it.”

Following the revelations that P&O planned to replace sacked workers with cheaper agency staff, encouraging former staff to apply for agency work, unions and opposition politicians have once more called for the practice of ‘fire and rehire’ to be banned.

Fire and rehire refers to companies sacking workers and rehiring them on worse pay and conditions.

The government had previously blocked a new law to curb businesses’ ability to lay staff off and take them back on worse pay and terms.

Labour MP Louise Haigh is among those who has called for the practice of fire and rehire to end after the sackings and Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner tweeted: “This Government has enabled poor business practices that exploit workers.

“Fire and rehire must end. This is destroying lives.”

Labour MP Ian Lavery tweeted: “Solidarity to the @RMTunion seafarers given a minutes notice to be replaced by cheap contract workers. 800 loyal workers instantly dismissed !!!.

“The Government needs to intervene and demand an immediate U turn from P&O.

“Fire & Rehire at its very worst.”

Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward

Vast majority of public say scrap ‘fire and rehire’

Workers across the country urge MPs to back bill to ban Fire and Rehire

Victory for workers: Fire and rehire at shoe manufacturer Clarks is defeated

Grahame Morris MP: Fire and Rehire is despicable and it must end

Here’s how we can reset the economy and undo the damage done by neoliberal policies

'It is only the visible hand of government policies that is condemning people to poverty and hardship.'

Prem Sikka 

18 March, 2022 

British people are facing the biggest decline in their living standards since the Second World War. The Chancellor’s Spring Statement, next week, is an opportunity to deliver much needed relief, reset the economy and undo the damage done by neoliberal policies.

The crisis is hitting every home. Energy prices are rising 14 times faster than wages and people expected to find an extra £38bn to keep the lights flickering.

Food prices are expected to rise by 15% and 8.5 million households are in serious financial difficulty from fuel bills. One in ten is experiencing food insecurity.

Wages are not keeping pace with inflation. Public sector workers face an average pay cut of about £1,750 once inflation is taken into account.

Despite the much heralded triple-lock on the state pension, 2.1 million retirees live in poverty and 1.25 million are women. Malnutrition (or undernutrition) affects over 3 million people, including 1.3 million retirees. Around 25,000 retirees die from cold as they have to choose between heating and eating.

Twelve years of never-ending austerity has suppressed wages and destroyed savings. The median household gross savings in the UK is £12,500 and 25% of households have less than £2,100, leaving many to wonder how they will survive beyond the next month.

At December 2021, the personal debt is around £1,765.6bn. Student debt has hit £161bn and is subject to the interest rate of retail price index (RPI) plus 3%. The general interest rate has just risen to 0.75% and expected go even higher, increasing the cost of mortgages and borrowing.

Even before the latest crisis, some 14.5 million people, including 4.3 million children were living in poverty. Some 18.4 million individuals have annual income of less than £12,570. Some 6.2 million people survive on annual income of less than £9,500. Rather than helping, last October the Chancellor cut Universal Credit by £20 per week, equivalent to £1,040 a year, from 4.4 million families.

People’s ability to manage the crisis is sapped. The post-Covid and Brexit economy isn’t going anywhere and in January it barely grew by 0.8%. Any return to growth requires that people have good purchasing power.

The UK government has numerous choices. It is the only major country to impose higher taxes on people amidst a cost of living crisis. It must abandon the planned 1.25 percentage point increase in national insurance and hikes in income tax.

Wages, the state pension and benefits must rise, at least in line with inflation. It needs to impose windfall taxes on banks, supermarkets, oil, gas and energy companies and use the proceeds to cushion the rising energy costs.

Emphasis must be on social justice, eradicating poverty and reducing inequalities. The wealthiest 10% of households hold 43% of all the wealth; in comparison the bottom 50% hold only 9%. 42% of all disposable household income is in the hands of 20% of people, while 7% goes to the lowest-income 20%. There should be no income tax or national insurance on individuals on the minimum wage. It makes no sense to tax the poorest and then ask them to queue up for Universal Credit.

The burden of tax needs to shift to the richest. The poorest 10% of households pay 47.6% of their income in direct and indirect taxes, compared to 33.5% by the richest 10% of households.

Various tax anomalies and perks for the select few must be abolished. Capital gains are taxed at the rate 10-28%, where earned income is taxed at marginal rates of 20%-45%. By taxing capital gains at the same rate as earned income and charging national insurance on it too, raises around £25bn a year. Indeed, all unearned income must be taxed at the same rate as earned income.

Currently, earnings between £9,568 and £50,270 are subjected to a 12% national insurant charge. Incomes above that attract a charge of only 2%. By extending the 12% charge to all income, an additional £14bn a year can be raised.

Around two-thirds of the £40bn a year tax relief on pension contributions goes to individuals paying income tax at the rate of 40% and 45%. By reducing the relief to 20%, the basic rate of income tax, the government can level the field and also raise £10bn.

In addition to the above, additional resources for redistribution and investment in public services can be raised by wealth tax, financial transaction tax and by clamping-down on tax avoidance. HMRC says that it fails to collect £35bn of taxes a year.

Twelve years of low inflation and interest rates have not produced higher investment in productive assets, mainly because the corporate sector has little appetite for long-term, risky investment. That gap needs to be filled by the state with investment in new and green technologies to create skilled jobs and transform the economy. Governments which handed £895bn of quantitative easing to speculators should have no difficulty in finding resources.

There is no invisible hand of fate. It is only the visible hand of government policies that is condemning people to poverty and hardship.

Prem Sikka is an Emeritus Professor of Accounting at the University of Essex and the University of Sheffield, a Labour member of the House of Lords, and Contributing Editor at Left Foot Forward.

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UK
Rishi Sunak grilled about his family allegedly ‘benefiting from Putin’s regime’

Sunak was challenged by Jayne Secker over claims his family is profiting from Kremlin operations while he is urging businesses to cut ties with Russia.

Basit Mahmood

24 March, 2022 

As chancellor Rishi Sunak braced for a difficult morning broadcast round following his Spring Statement, where he failed to help millions of people with the cost of living crisis, leaving him facing stinging criticism, he probably didn’t anticipate being asked about his family links to Russia.

Appearing on Sky News, Sunak was challenged by Jayne Secker over claims his family is profiting from Kremlin operations while he is urging businesses to cut ties with Russia.

During his Spring Statement yesterday, the chancellor had asked firms to think carefully before investing in Russia to prevent any benefit to Putin’s regime. It comes as the UK and other European leaders impose sanctions on the Kremlin following Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine.

Sunak’s wife, Akshata Murthy, holds a stake in her father’s firm Infosys, which is reported to operate in Moscow and has links to a major Russian bank.

Secker asked the chancellor: “It’s been reported that you’ve got family links to Russia. That your wife apparently has a stake in the Indian IT consultancy firm Infosys, they operate in Moscow, they have an office there, they have a delivery office there, they’ve got a connection to the Alpha bank in Moscow, are you giving advice to others that you’re not following in your own home?”

Sunak replied: “I’m here to talk to you about what I am responsible for, my wife is not.”

Asked once more if his family was benefiting from Putin’s regime, Sunak replied: “I don’t think that’s the case and as I’ve said the operations of all companies are up to them, we’ve put in place significant sanctions and all the companies we’re responsible for are following those as they rightly should.”

Asked if Infosys is, the chancellor insisted he had ‘absolutely no idea’ because he had nothing to do with the company’.

Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward

UK
How trade unions reacted to Rishi Sunak’s Spring Statement

Sunak's spring statement is unravelling pretty fast

Basit Mahmood 24 March, 2022 


As Rishi Sunak’s Spring Statement unravels pretty fast, with the chancellor being slammed as a ‘fiscal illusionist’ by the IFS, leaving millions of workers worse off, we take a closer look at how some of the trade unions reacted to his measures.

Unite

Unite slammed the statement as ‘tinkering around the edges’. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Workers will still be facing sleepless nights worrying about how to make ends meet, overwhelmed by rocketing prices.

“His Spring Statement does nothing to tackle the corporate elite, the billionaires who stash their loot but sack UK workers by Zoom. Once again, ordinary working people bear the broadest burden while the super-rich get off scot-free.

“That is why I’m calling on the government to join Unite in our new workers’ commission on profiteering because it’s not just the big six energy firms who have made money from this crisis.

“What about those providers who made bundles charging exorbitant prices to our NHS during the pandemic? What about Amazon and the money it made from lockdown. What about DP World, who made over $1 billion dollars in profit and then sacked 800 P&O workers on the spot.”

GMB

The GMB union said that Rishi Sunak should stop fretting about being the next Tory leader and help working people now.

Gary Smith, GMB General Secretary, said: “It’s time Rishi Sunak stopped fretting about being the next Tory leader and focused on providing real help for working people when they need it.

“His talk of tax cuts in the distant future may win votes from his backbenchers, but it does nothing to help people now.

“We’re in the grip of the worst cost of living crisis for 30 years, driven by an utterly predictable energy squeeze.

“With inflation out of control and getting worse people are crying out for help with their skyrocketing bills.

“Tory backbenchers may fall for his fluffy words, but working people know a false promise when they hear it.”

TUC

The TUC says that Rishi Sunak has failed families who need help now.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “In the midst of the biggest wages and bills crisis in living memory, Rishi Sunak’s Spring Statement has failed families who need help now.

“We did not get the urgent help with soaring bills that families need. And the rise in the national insurance threshold will mostly benefit better off households.

“The Spring Statement small print shows that pay packets are now expected to fall in value by £11 a week this year. After 12 years of Tory government, Britain needs a pay rise. But this Chancellor has no plan to get wages rising and give working people long-term financial security.”

UNISON

Chancellor’s tinkering won’t tackle the real problems facing hard-pressed households, says UNISON.

UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: “The government has merely tinkered around the edges of the living standards crisis. Tweaking tax thresholds will boost the coffers of the wealthy, not provide help to those in most need.

“Promises to reduce taxes in future won’t cut the mustard with families living a financial hell now. Financial pain at the pumps won’t end with a few pence off fuel duty. Less affluent households are being driven off the roads.

“Cheaper solar panels won’t put food on the table for families worried about where their next meal is coming from. Money is tight for millions of working people across the UK, many employed in essential public services.

“The chancellor had the wriggle room to deliver widespread relief across NHS, care, council, police and school services. It’s outrageous he chose not to.”

TSSA

Transport and travel union TSSA slammed the government for promoting a car-led recovery over climate-friendly public transport in the Spring Statement.

Manuel Cortes, TSSA general secretary, said: “This government is fuelling – quite literally – a car-led recovery instead of promoting climate friendly solutions such as public transport.

“We should be making public transport cheaper in the face of spiralling, out of control fuel prices. Other countries are cutting the cost of public transport or making it free for commuters, but this Tory government has increased rail fares and is failing to encourage more people to take public transport.

“This Spring Statement was a missed opportunity from a Tory government that simply doesn’t understand the challenges that our country faces, choosing to back big business over ordinary workers.”

Yemen: Seven years of the forgotten war

Benali Hamdache writes on how the complexity of the war has allowed the UK government to get away with not using its power to bring peace, and to continue profiting from arm sales.

Benali Hamdache Today
Benali Hamdache is Green Party migration and refugee support spokesperson

Today is the 7th anniversary of the forgotten war. One of the biggest humanitarian crises in the world right now. The war in Yemen is both devastating and under-reported.

Since this war started 377,000 Yemenis have died of disease, hunger or conflict. 12 million children are in danger and need aid to make it through the year. The reality of life for civilians is harrowing, but the inertia and inaction from decision makers is evident and widespread.

This is despite our colonial legacy and historical ties to Yemen. South Yemen was made part of the British Empire and the British Yemeni community is both the largest and longest lasting Arabic community in the UK. Yemeni steelworkers and sailors helped build this country. But their story is not well known, and our government seems to hold little regard for repairing our legacy in the region.

Seven years ago, war broke out in Yemen. Modern day Yemen is made up of the former British colony that constituted South Yemen and the former Ottoman colony of North Yemen. The two countries came together in an uneasy and difficult union after wars and political collapse in the 70s and 80s. Yemen has been one country since 1990, but the history of being two nations has caused strife, conflict and paralysis.

Civil war and instability for three decades

Yemen’s history is also filled with the consequence of decisions by other powers. In 1990 Yemen declined to join the Gulf War’s coalition forces. Saudi Arabia responded by evicting hundreds of thousands of Yemeni workers, closing off much needed remittances. The decision seriously destabilised the economy of this newly formed nation. From that point, civil war and political instability dominated the next three decades.

Religious differences have also caused much strife. Yemen’s Shia community mostly live in the North, whilst the Sunni community live in the South. Policies on religious minorities and representation have fed into the conflict and have made finding peace much harder. This has only been exacerbated by the war becoming a proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia, both seeking to boost the fortunes of their allies. The result is a runaway war with peace seeming remote. This complexity has allowed the UK government to get away with not using its power to bring peace and to continue profiting from arm sales.

Businesses making billions selling deadly arms to use in Yemen

Today businesses like BAE systems are making millions, selling deadly arms to Gulf States to use in Yemen. Yemen is trapped in a cycle of British bombs dropped by one side, with Iranian arms killing more in return.

But there are many more things Liz Truss could be doing as Foreign Secretary. The UK has been shamefully quiet over war crimes committed by our Gulf state allies. We’ve not used our powers at the UN to call for accountability of war crimes, when Dominic Raab was so fast to do the same over Russia in Ukraine. We could be doing much more to reign in our allies and put a negotiated settlement and a ceasefire first.

The struggles of British Yemeni

The dichotomy in the difference in response to Ukraine versus Yemen is one noticed loudly by the British Yemeni community. They cannot bring loved ones to safety in this country. They struggle to send money to family in need. They see little action from their government as an honest broker for peace. Progressive voices need to be shifting the Overton Window and calling for equal treatment of refugees and victims of war, regardless of skin colour.

We need a cross party movement to call this out and demand more. The right for family reunification for British Yemenis and refugee sponsorship should be established. For Syrians, Afghans and many others from the Global South too. Our refugee policy shouldn’t make distinctions based on faith or ethnicity.

The rapidness of Russian sanctions and political action show that the government has many more tools at its disposal. Many more than it is willing to use for conflicts elsewhere, even if at times it’s had to be shamed into using them. We have to use this political precedent to demand more action for Yemen. Starting with stopping selling arms to the conflict and continuing with real accountability for war crimes. This war will not be solved by the one sided approach taken. It needs honest brokers.

Wealthy nations’ money can save lives

Finally, this government’s cut of the international aid budget remains one of its most shameful decisions. The world is increasingly more complex and unstable and will be more as the climate emergency worsens. Wealthy nations’ money can save lives. Instead, less money will be spread between more conflicts, with the very real consequence of the most vulnerable dying.

Let’s not forget either the shameful Nationality and Borders Bill. Its passage will shut the door to Yemenis in need. It will punish any who manage to reach family here.

Conservative foreign policy and refugee policy is often portrayed as “common-sense”. But if the status quo is endless war, barbarity and suffering it needs a radical fresh start. Progressives shouldn’t be afraid to call out an establishment that is complacent, lazy and dominated by self-interest. Black and brown lives matter.

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