Albertans boycott Canadian Blood Services over dropped mask policy

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The organization has faced blood shortages during the

pandemic

Jennifer Lee · CBC News · Posted: Jul 27, 2022  

Calgary

Canadian Blood Services has dropped its mask requirement at donation centres across the country. (Shutterstock)

Canadian Blood Services is facing a backlash over a decision this week to drop a COVID-19 mask requirement at its donation centres nationwide.

In Alberta, a number of concerned donors are opting to cancel their blood donation plans.

• Alberta hospitals might buckle under the next COVID wave, doctors worry

• University of Calgary doctor's study sheds light on mystery of long COVID in kids

The organization, which has dealt with blood shortages through the pandemic, announced Monday on Twitter that it has lifted a COVID-19 mask mandate in its buildings, vehicles and collection events nationwide.

The announcement comes at a time when transmission rates are rising in Alberta. It prompted an immediate outcry.

"It was a gut punch," said Cindy Wilinski, who ranches south of Okotoks.

She, along with other members of her family, have been regular blood donors since her granddaughter was diagnosed with leukemia a few years ago. The young girl is now in remission, but she required numerous blood transfusions during her treatment.

"It was something we felt was a way we could give back [after] the way modern medicine was able to put our granddaughter into remission."

Wilinski believes health-related organizations should have protective measures such as masking in place to prevent COVID-19 transmission. She says her family has decided it will not be donating blood as long as the policy is suspended.

"Canadian Blood Services can't afford to lose donors.… It doesn't do anyone any harm to throw on a mask before popping in to give blood," said Wilinski, who is calling on the organization to reconsider.

"I think it's going to deter a lot of people like myself who are actively trying really hard to avoid infection."

Masks still 'welcome'

Canadian Blood Services announced in June that it was dealing with "a critically low national blood inventory" and a dramatic decrease in donors as a result of the pandemic.

The organization — which took to Twitter to alert the public it had suspended both masking and physical distancing in its buildings, vehicles and collection events — told CBC News it's taken a "cautious and measured" approach since the beginning of the pandemic.

"Although no longer required, masks are welcome in our environments and are available to anyone who chooses to wear one," a spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

• Alberta's COVID-19 public health measures are gone. What's next?

• Documents show politics drove Alberta's decision to lift COVID restrictions, critics argue

The organization would not provide an interview but says all its decisions have been made in consultation with medical and epidemiology experts and have, at a minimum, met public health requirements.

"Canadian Blood Services is a unique organization. Although we provide life-saving products to hospitals, we are not a hospital or health-care setting," the statement said.

"As a community setting, we are able to shift from mandatory to optional measures. In recent months we have seen restrictions being eased in many other community venues. This can happen because the majority of Canadians are vaccinated against COVID-19, and illness now caused by COVID-19 is far less severe in most cases."

'Not good enough'

"It's just not good enough. It doesn't show a level of care for the community. It certainly doesn't show a level of care for vulnerable people," said Calgarian Jessy Roos, a regular blood donor.

Calgarian Jessy Roos says she won't be giving blood until Canadian Blood Services reverses its decision to lift its mask mandate. (Submitted by Jessy Roos)

She has also decided to stop donating as long as the mask mandate is suspended.

"I will not go to a needed service like this where I put myself and my community at risk by attending," said Roos, noting she has vulnerable family members she wants to protect from a COVID infection.

"I hate to be put in the position that I have to choose between doing something that I'm really passionate about — that is helpful [and] that saves lives — and keeping my loved ones safe."

Another long-time donor, Sven Stuwe of Calgary, says he understand the backlash but intends to keep giving blood.

"I have mixed feelings on it because I know that COVID numbers are going up," he said, adding he's always felt safe at Canadian Blood Services facilities.

"This is so important. And I've seen so many stories over the years about people needing the blood, I'm going to continue to do it. I know there are people that are concerned about it and rightly so. And if they don't want to, I totally understand," said Stuwe, who has given close to 90 whole blood donations.

His next appointment is scheduled for September.

Canadian Blood Services says it continues to ensure that surgical masks and N95s are available to staff, volunteers, visitors and donors, and it will reintroduce mandatory masks and physical distancing "if necessary."

ALBERTA
Heartland Generation exploring hydrogen conversion for decades old plant

By Tom Vernon Global News
Posted July 26, 2022 


As Canada moves to transform the electricity industry to net zero by 2030, a power generating station that has been part of Alberta’s electricity grid since the mid-1950s is being eyed up for a major transition.

Heartland Generation is studying the idea of converting the Battle River Power Station, which originally burned coal and has since been converted to natural gas, into a hydrogen burning facility.

“The 2035 date is absolutely a challenge for everybody, but it’s an exciting challenge for us,” Heartland Generation’s director of energy transition, Shana Boyd told Global News.

“We’re looking at the next steps in decarbonization, and how we could possibly use hydrogen as a fuel at our existing power plants.”

READ MORE: Net-zero power system in Alberta ‘possible’ by 2035 but pricey: report

The proposal would see the company not only convert the existing plant to burn hydrogen, but to build an entirely new facility on the same site to produce the needed hydrogen by converting natural gas.

“We bring a new element of technology to the table, and we also use the existing asset to be able to generate reliable electricity that doesn’t have carbon emissions,” Body said.

The feasibility study is being funded, in part, with a $5 million grant from Emissions Reduction Alberta through a carbon capture competition.

“You’re seeing an economy in transition — in transformation, really,” said Emissions Reduction Alberta CEO, Justin Riemer.

READ MORE: Alberta needs billions more to invest in energy transition: study

The Battle River proposal is one of eleven in total that received $40 million in funding in the competition. Other projects include, Capital Power’s Genesee carbon capture proposal, Lafarge Canada’s Exshaw cement carbon capture and the Bow Valley decarbonization plan.

ERA estimates that if every project moves to completion, capital investment would top $20 billion, and Alberta would cut carbon emissions by 24 million tonnes annually — the equivalent of removing 7.4 million passenger vehicles from the road.

“We have the technical expertise and the labour force that can execute the massive industrial energy-based projects that very few jurisdictions around the world can do,” Riemer said.

 

Heartland Generation is looking for ways to achieve net zero by the 2035 deadline. For decades, the Battle River Power Station near Forestburg was a coal burning station, but it has been converted to natural gas and even bigger changes are in the works to one day potentially convert that gas to hydrogen for fuel. Provincial affairs reporter Tom Vernon explains how that would work.

@vivviey/TikTok

‘This just encourages workers to arrive earlier and stay late hours’: Worker shares ‘cool perks’ of working at her tech company, sparking debate

'A capitalist ploy.'

 

Braden Bjella

 

IRL

 

Posted on Jul 26, 2022

A worker took TikTokers on a tour around her office, showing off the perks offered to her and her co-workers at the tech company.

User Vivvie (@vivviey) posted her video earlier in the week. She claims that the office has free breakfast, a hygiene station, hair tools, unlimited snacks, as well as a candy and sandwich bar.

While some users were in favor of the benefit-stocked workplace, others speculated that the company’s motives may actually be to keep workers in the office, not just make their workdays better.

The video currently has over 4.3 million views.

On one side, some users supported this style of office.

“I just don’t understand why other companies don’t adopt these,” one user wrote. “It’s a win win for employer and employee.”

“Stuff like this makes employees want to work hard and show up,” another user added. “But instead so many comp want to make workplaces hell.”

“Taking notes for when I one day open my own business,” a third stated. “This is such a simple but necessary thing for companies to do for their employees.”

There may be some truth in these claims. In 2015, USA Today reported on a study that claimed that while “56%, of full-time employees are ‘extremely’ or ‘very’ happy with their current job, that number jumps to 67% among those who have access to free food.”

Furthermore, Oxford University’s Saïd Business School claimed in 2019 that “happy workers are 13% more productive” than their unhappy counterparts.

However, according to some TikTokers, the employer’s plan is not really to make the employees happy—it’s to keep them in the office.

“This just encourages workers to arrive earlier and stay late hours, assimilating being at work with being at home,” claimed one user. “Aka…a capitalist ploy.”

“It’s a trick to keep you at work 24/7,” a second stated. Vivvie responded to this comment with, “lol well it works.”

“We love an employer that makes sure you never have to leave their office and have any personal time,” a further user concluded.

We’ve reached out to Vivvie via TikTok comment.

@rich_alfonso/TikTok

‘When the company you work for doesn’t micromanage you’: Remote worker says he does 8 hours of work in 30 minutes, sparking debate

'People saying you don’t have enough work have drunk the capitalist kool-aid.'

 

Braden Bjella

 

Internet Culture

 

Posted on Jul 26, 2022

With skepticism about the efficacy of an eight-hour workday growing, and with more and more companies embracing a four-day workweek, there is an ongoing conversation in the United States about how the country’s work culture can be changed.

But while many businesses are pivoting to making their employees spend less time in the office, others are insistent on keeping their employees for the full 40 hours per week—even if getting their actual work done takes considerably less time.

A user on TikTok recently posted a video on this subject to viral success. In the video, user Rich (@rich_alfonso) claims that working for a company that “doesn’t micromanage” has allowed him to take longer lunches, be more relaxed, and importantly, “crush 8 hours of work in 30 minutes.”

Rich’s video currently has over 4.3 million views.

In the comments, users supported the idea of getting all of one’s work done quickly rather than feeling the need to arbitrarily spread it over eight hours.

“I wish more companies were like this,” one user wrote. “At my job I can do about 8 hours of work in 2, yet I have to work the whole day…”

“The world would be a much healthier place if jobs realized that it does not take 8hrs to complete your work,” a second user added. “Damn near takes an hour.”

“People really don’t understand that it’s not about time,” a third user claimed. “It’s about completing tasks that your company expects.”

Others stated that Rich’s journey represented the dream for many workers in the U.S.

“People saying you don’t have enough work have drunk the capitalist kool-aid and it makes me sad,” a user explained. “People, this is the life we can aim for.”

“Here’s the thing most companies miss. if they let us manage our time how we want, we won’t have qualms about working a little late to finish,” a further user noted.

Even more users shared personal stories about their time working in similar office environments.

“I just got a new job like this and it got me shook! So much freedom! Not being micromanaged is so liberating…” a commenter offered.

“It still [feels] amazing that I can get my daily work done in less than 4 hours without all the office distractions and BS,” an additional user contributed.

“Yes! Me at my job, no outside phone calls, no micro-managing and can get my 8 hours done in about 4 most days,” another TikToker concluded. “WFH life, i’m lovin’ it!”

The Daily Dot reached out to Rich via Instagram direct message.

,

Braden Bjella is a culture writer. His work can be found in Mixmag, Electronic Beats, Schön! magazine, and more.

Chess Olympiad: After nod from Taliban, Afghan men ready to mount a challenge

Prasad RS - Monday





CHENNAI: The last time over-the-board chess Olympiad was held Batumi in 2018, Afghanistan had gone on to top in the open category of Group D. With Taliban taking over the country in August last year, there were apprehensions as to whether players will get the government's nod to feature at the upcoming Olympiad.

However, the Taliban government has given the green signal and players are expected to land here in the coming days. "The approval has come and the visas too have been issued," a senior AICF official told TOI.

The move is interesting as Taliban have often considered chess as a form of gambling. Amini Habibullah, the highest rated player in the line-up, believes a strong show in the Olympiad will go a long way in reviving the spot in the country. "We have got the necessary permission from the government to play at the Olympiad. We are thankful to the government for having given the go-ahead to feature in the tournament," Habibullah told TOI from Kabul.

Talking about the preparations ahead of the tournament, Habibullah said, "Our training sessions have been fruitful thanks to Farazi Khaiber, the captain of the team. We are hopeful that a good performance will give the spot a boost in Afghanistan." Farazi and Habibullah were members of the Afghanistan squad that had excelled in Batumi four years ago. The current squad comprises Habibullah, Mirzaad S.Wahabuddin, Sakhawaty Sepehr, Muradi Mohammad Yousuf and Sulaiman Ahmad Ashrafi. While Afghanistan has regularly featured at the Olympiads before, the country has failed to produce a top-level player.

However, Habibullah is of the opinion that chess has a future in the country. "There is no dearth of talent in our country. It all boils down to performing in big tournaments for the youngsters to take chess as a sport. For that to happen, we have to perform well in the tournament," said Habibullah, a Candidate Master.

While men play the sport in Afghanistan, women aren't allowed to be part of it. That explains why Afghanistan isn't fielding a team in the women's section. "One can only hope that the situation becomes better and we have a team in the women's category too in future," said Habibullah.

‘Most Have Fled, I Play Alone’: How Chess Became A Victim Of Taliban’s Policies In Afghanistan – 

The Indian Express
Grandmaster Chess
July 27, 2022

The Chess Olympiad was Sepehr Sekhawaty's dream, a dream that he nearly did not realise. (Sepehr Sekhawaty/Instagram)

In just one word, uttered coldly, Sepehr Sekhawaty, captures the plight of chess in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover, Terrible.

But he says he has no complaints, for he is happy just to be alive and playing the game, a privilege not many could afford.

After the Taliban recapture, they banned women from all sports and began the clampdown on those streams they thought were at odds with their doctrine. Chess, they believed, was a form of gambling and distracted people from saying their prayers, besides carrying the Soviet stigma. Though they have not banned the game officially, like they did during their previous reign, they have chopped its arms.

The hardships of being a chess player in a country intolerant to the game, and an extension, most sports, is immeasurable, he says. Fearing Talibans backlash, most chess clubs shut shop frantically, most chess players stopped playing, and even the federation officials fled. The president sought refuge in Latvia while several others migrated to Uzbekistan. For months, I had no one to play chess with. Even the federations president has fled the country. So have a lot of senior players and officials. I played all alone in my room, says Sepehr, who is from Herat, 900-odd kilometres from Kabul.

Or when there was electricity and internet, he would browse chess websites, download diagrams of games that featured the top 100 players, played a few games and, if time permitted, read up on his favourite player, Bobby Fischer. Forget coaching camps, he has not met his Olympiad colleagues in months. To get into groove before the Olympiad, he travelled a back-breaking 600-odd kilometres by road to Tehran to compete in three tournaments. I started playing the game alone when I was seven, and now I am 19, and I am still alone. Theres no coach or colleague. Most of them have fled the country, and I am just managing to play chess because of my supportive father. But I cannot keep troubling him forever, he says.

The Chess Olympiad was his dream, a dream that he nearly did not realise. He had hardly any money of his own to buy tickets. There was no funding and all we got as a stipend was USD 25 in three months. Thankfully, my father bought me the tickets, and I hope the federation would repay me after I reach Chennai, he says.

A bigger hurdle was getting the governments nod. For several weeks, he was uncertain of travelling to Chennai as his government kept refusing permission. He would anxiously check the news or information from his friends in the media. Finally, last Saturday, he got the approval.

As suffocating was the fear of the Maroof, the religious police. The chess fraternity fears a ban on the sport as happened in 1996. The old stories kept haunting them the police would burn chessboards, pieces, imprison them for weeks, slap fines and issue threats of cutting off their hands if they played the game again. Chess players, fearful of denunciation, had to meet in secret. But even that stopped when the police intensified the crackdowns.

Reversing the progress

Unshackled after the exit of the Taliban two decades ago, chess had begun to prosper again. During the last five years, chess was growing rapidly. We could afford to hire a Grandmaster as coach, started branches in 28 provinces across the country, had around 10,000 active players and organised the FIDE Arbiter and Trainers seminar in 2019, details former national federation general secretary Abasin Mohibi.

Sepehr too could travel abroad for competitions and used to be a regular in tournaments in India and Iran, at a time when he amassed a wealth of experience and points. But fewer tournaments naturally meant a stagnation in points (he has managed only 1809).

The emergence was further stamped after Afghanistan claimed gold in Category D of the Chess Olympiad in 2019. But all that progress has turned upside down in the last 11 months.

Eleven months into the Taliban rule, there has not been a single official tournament, seminar or any related activities. Most federation officials have left the country. In some provinces, chess has been banned. The female department of the federation is currently shut. There is no active female player either, narrates Mohibi.

The Taliban has been especially severe on women athletes. Several had to flee the country, many others had to quit their streams altogether and burn documents or equipment that betrayed they were sportspersons. Even womens cricket was stopped during their last regime, Taliban forbade women and girls from receiving an education or working as well. Mohibi sighs: People are busy rebuilding lives. Its a difficult life for us.

Fleeing the country seems the only realistic alternative to forge a career in chess, though Sepehr does not want to leave his country. I really love and care for my country, he says emotionally, but concedes he would eventually look out. I will definitely accept any offer from countries where chess is important so that I can reach my targets and goals. But who would want me? he asks, in a deflated tone.

But Sepehr is unwilling to give up. I want to win the individual gold in Board Three and help the team win the gold medal in our category. That would mean something in these times, he says. A gold that would be a metaphor of defiance, though they would not be paraded as heroes when they return home.

UN experts urge Hong Kong authorities to repeal security law

By JAMEY KEATEN

Photini Pazartzis, Chairperson of the Committee, OHCHR, speaks about the Human Rights Committee presents findings on the political and civil rights in Hong Kong, Macao, Georgia, Ireland, Luxembourg and Uruguay, during a press conference at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 27, 2022. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)

GENEVA (AP) — Independent human rights experts backed by the United Nations called Wednesday on authorities in Hong Kong to repeal a national security law that squelched protests and criticism over China’s tightening grip on the semi-autonomous region.

The U.N.-backed Human Rights Committee added its voice to independent advocacy groups that have said the National Security Law was passed by the National People’s Congress in Beijing without adequately consulting the people of Hong Kong.

Since its passage in 2020, the law has reportedly been applied in connection with the arrests of more than 200 people, the experts say.

The committee aims to ensure that signatories of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights uphold their commitments to respecting people’s rights and freedoms.

The findings by the committee, part of a regular review of parties to the covenant, expose again the complexities of Beijing’s control of Hong Kong for the last 25 years. The findings were published Wednesday after a string of hearings — including Hong Kong authorities — earlier this month

The Chinese region of Macao, Georgia, Ireland, Luxembourg and Uruguay were also examined.

Hong Kong acceded to the covenant after Britain, the region’s former colonial ruler, ratified it in 1976. After the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997, Chinese authorities told the U.N. chief that the covenant would continue to apply to the region.

“Hong Kong, China should ensure that the covenant prevails over local legislation and laws applicable in Hong Kong, including the National Security Law, and bring these laws and practices in full conformity with the Covenant,” the experts wrote.

Addressing Hong Kong — and not China, which has not ratified the covenant — committee vice chair Christopher Arif Bulkan told reporters: “The committee urged Hong Kong to take action to repeal the national security law and in the interim refrain from applying it.”

Bulkan cited the “unique” context in which a country — like China — was in essence inheriting a commitment to the covenant that was made before it took control of Hong Kong and Macao.

He said Hong Kong’s authorities, during the hearings, had “indicated that they are considering enacting a new law” — and he emphasized Beijing’s past commitment to a “one country, two systems” policy with regard to the two regions.

In a statement, the Hong Kong government made no reference to any possible new law. It also said China had the right to legislate on issues of national security, which falls under central authorities, under the “one country, two systems” principle. It said the relevant parts of the human rights covenant were taken into consideration when the national security law was drawn up.

Last year, Amnesty International said the security law had decimated Hong Kong’s freedoms and created a landscape increasingly devoid of human rights protections.

Alberta hospitals might buckle under the next COVID wave, doctors worry

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Stampede gatherings may be contributing to Calgary's

latest surge

Jennifer Lee · CBC News · Posted: Jul 26, 2022 3:59 PM MT | Last Updated: 8 hours ago

As of July 18, there were 559 Albertans hospitalized with COVID-19, including 23 in ICU. The previous week, Alberta Health reported there were 552 people hospitalized, including 16 in intensive care.

 (Ose Irete/CBC)

Calgary appears to be on the leading edge of Alberta's latest COVID-19 wave, and there are concerns about how the province's already strained hospitals will be able to handle yet another surge.

Transmission is rising in Alberta, driven by the more transmissible BA.5 subvariant.

"The levels in Calgary have gone way up since the 13th of July," said Dr. Dan Gregson, an infectious disease specialist and medical microbiologist with University of Calgary.

He's been watching Alberta's wastewater data closely and said the latest trend is clear.

The Y axis denotes the number of SARS-CoV2 RNA particles detected in each sample. The numbers show the first number multiplied by 10 to the power of the small number above. For example 2.1 x 10¹⁵ written out in full is 2,100,000,000,000,000 or 2.1 quadrillion RNA particles detected. (Rob Easton/CBC)

"That's showing that we're having quite a bit of transmission in the community.… Not quite as much as the BA.2 wave, but we're getting there, and we'll see where that goes over the next few weeks," he said.

"It's possible that this current bump is related to our gatherings both at and around Stampede, and it may drop off or we may have a wave similar to what's gone on in Ontario and the U.K."

The Y axis denotes the number of SARS-CoV2 RNA particles detected per millilitre of wastewater. This chart should only be interpreted as a measure of progress against itself and not used to compare with other cities or measurement sites. (Rob Easton/CBC)

Positivity rates, for those eligible for PCR testing, are rising now throughout the province, with the most dramatic increase in the Calgary zone.

And Alberta's hospitalizations began ticking back up last week, too, for the first time since early May. 

"We're having — at least in terms of infection — a wave currently," said Gregson.

"The concern is when you look at jurisdictions like Ontario and the U.K. they didn't just have a wave of infections, they also had a wave of admissions."

Gregson predicts hospitalizations will keep going up in Alberta, with most people needing treatment such as oxygen support. But he expects the number of people requiring intensive care will likely be lower than during previous Omicron waves.

Emergency rooms facing 'perfect storm'

Frontline health-care workers, already exhausted after 2½ years of the pandemic, are starting to see early signs of this surge in Alberta's emergency rooms as more COVID-19 patients show up once again.

"This is the start. From talking to my colleagues in Ontario, we're probably a couple of weeks behind them," said Dr. Paul Parks, president of the emergency medicine section with the Alberta Medical Association.

"Our system is very, very stressed and overwhelmed already.… Adding more sick COVID patients is going to be a real challenge."

Dr. Paul Parks is president of the emergency medicine section with the Alberta Medical Association. He works at the Medicine Hat hospital. (Submitted by Paul Parks)

Parks said emergency rooms are already dealing with a "perfect storm," driven by staffing shortages and burnout, an increase in patient complexity due pandemic driven care delays, and an unusual surge of respiratory viruses this summer.

"Seeing those numbers go up now, it doesn't bode well for the coming months and early fall."

He's worried an influx of COVID patients this summer could further weaken an already struggling health-care system ahead of fall, when demand generally spikes in the ER.

"We can predict every year we get that, and if we have a big COVID wave on top of it, it will impact our ability to give safe and timely care. It will affect patients and Albertans, and some may even die because of capacity issues," he warned.

"We're very, very worried and concerned about that."

As Alberta's latest surge takes off, Dr. Noel Gibney believes now is the time to reconsider the idea of masking.

"There's no question that individuals, if they really want to take care and not become infected, that they should mask in crowded indoor areas [and] public transport," said Gibney, a professor emeritus of critical care medicine at the University of Alberta.

 And he wants the government to look at improving air quality and ventilation in public buildings.

Transmission is occurring at quite a high frequency right now in the community.- Dr. Dan Gregson, infectious disease specialist

"I think we do need a good discussion about how do we protect people who have to work indoors in public buildings, in schools and also, to a certain extent, hospitals," he said.

"We need to have a discussion publicly as to how can we improve the quality of air in our public places."

Meanwhile, Gregson is urging people to get a fourth dose of the COVID vaccine right away and roll up their sleeves for a third shot if they haven't already.

"Transmission is occurring at quite high frequency right now in the community. I don't think you want to spend a few days of your summer in the hospital and a few more days recovering at home," he said.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M ALBERTA STYLE

Pension manager AIMCo paid $3.6-million to departing executives after $2.1-billion loss

Yesterday
BEHIND PAYWALL NO OTHER SOURCE ACCESS TO STORY 

UK 

Rail strike: Rail workers walk out over pay dispute, as train drivers announce new strike

Channel 4 News

As a fourth day of strikes by members of the RMT brought many rail services to a halt, there was news of more disruption next month with the announcement from Aslef that train drivers at nine companies will stage a one-day strike on 13 August. Passengers today were advised not to travel because only around one in five trains were running - and in some areas no trains at all. The Transport Secretary Grant Shapps floated the idea of new measures to curb industrial action, but his suggestions provoked fury from union leaders.

   

Rail strikes: disruption affects millions in UK as Shapps threatens crackdown

Travel disrupted for millions amid worsening row with rail firms over jobs, pay, pensions and condition

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union on the picket line

outside Reading train station. Photograph: Steve Parsons/PA

Robert Booth and Emily Dugan

THE GUARDIAN

Wed 27 Jul 2022 

Much of Great Britain’s train network has ground to a halt after workers went on strike, disrupting travel for millions amid a worsening row with rail companies over jobs, pay, pensions and conditions.

With only about one in five trains running on around half the network, some lines closed and more strikes planned for Saturday and next month, the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, threatened to ban “strikes by different unions in the same workplace within a set period” and ensure critical industries such as rail maintained minimum service levels.

SIR Keir Starmer sacks shadow transport minister who joined picket line; train drivers vote for fresh strike – as it happened

Mick Lynch, the general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), responded by attacking anti-union measures that have also been proposed by the Tory leadership contenders Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, as an attempt to “take away human rights and the democratic right of people to express themselves through their trade union”.



On Tuesday, Truss said: “It is completely wrong that the travelling public are being held ransom by militant unions … I will take a tough line on trade union action that is not helping people get on in life … I will legislate to make sure that those core services are provided to the public.”

NEW In a sign of widening industrial unrest to come, Lynch said he would campaign for the Trades Unions Congress to call a general strike if she became prime minister in September and pressed ahead.

Pickets were set up outside train stations across England, Wales and Scotland as members of the RMT at Network Rail and 14 train operators went on strike. Members of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) at Avanti West Coast also walked out on Wednesday. Both unions are planning coordinated strikes on 18 and 20 August, while the RMT announced a strike on London Underground on 19 August. NEWPassenger numbers were two-thirds down on a normal Wednesday but more people ventured onto the railways than on 23 June, the second day of the last round of strikes, Network Rail said.

The RMT has rejected a 8% pay offer spread over three years from Network Rail as “measly”, saying it is not close to current inflation. The offer was conditional on changes to working practices, rules on redundancies and work-life balance, the unions said. The RMT opposes proposals to close ticket offices as more journeys are booked online, as well as amalgamating pay grades and changing pensions arrangements.

Andrew Haines, the Network Rail chief executive, said: “Despite our best efforts to find a breakthrough, I’m afraid there will be more disruption for passengers this week as the RMT seems hell-bent on continuing their political campaigning, rather than compromising and agreeing a deal for their members.”

Shapps ruled out meeting unions to break the deadlock, even if the situation escalated, telling Sky News he was “not the right person to be in the room negotiating”. NEW A department for transport spokesperson said: “government is not the employer here.”

Sharon Graham, general secretary of the UK’s largest trade union Unite, said the government had “miscalculated” with its attacks on union rights.

“People can see behind the usual narrative of ‘union bad, boss good’,” she said. “This is not the 1970s. The cost-of-living crisis is the latest episode in a long-term war on the living standards of workers.” 

The shadow transport minister Sam Tarry defied a call by the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, for his frontbench not to join pickets as he said lives could be lost if wages did not improve.

“It can’t be accepted any more that people just have to accept inflation is out of control,” Tarry said from the Euston picket line. “The government is doing nothing on the cost of living crisis, and I tell you what’s shameful – I believe strongly that if we had a Labour government right now, this dispute wouldn’t be happening because we would actually be around the table.”

Amid increased traffic congestion across major cities and frustration among much of the travelling public, Lynch was asked by reporters if there was any alternative to strikes. “I could do trial by combat … but I can’t think of [another] way at the moment because we’ve been negotiating for two years,” he said. “But it would be interesting if me and Grant Shapps went head-to-head, if that’s not too flippant.”

The Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators, said: “Like any public service we have to change with the times, and it’s only by making necessary reforms that we can give our people a pay rise. Which is what we want to do.”

Truss and Sunak have both said they would ban strikes on essential public services such as the railways, and Truss has said she would legislate for minimum service levels on critical national infrastructure in the first 30 days of government, a move described by Lynch as “proposing to make effective trade unionism illegal in Britain”.