Italy accused of illegally rejecting migrants as anger mounts

Humanitarian groups on Sunday said Italy had broken international law by refusing to let in migrants plucked from the sea as a German rescue charity said it would take legal action against Rome.

Italy's new far-right government has vowed to crack down on boat migrants© Severine Kpoti


Italy let in only babies, pregnant women and other vulnerable migrants© Giovanni ISOLINO

As rescue ships in Catania waited for permission to disembark every last person, a migrant rescue hotline said some 500 others had run into difficulty on the perilous Mediterranean crossing.

A father carrying a baby in a purple beanie was among the first to get off Geo Barents, a ship run by medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

He was one of the lucky 357 people allowed off. Italy refused entry to 215 others.

Earlier in the day authorities accepted 144 people including children and the sick from the German-flagged Humanity 1, but rejected 35 adult male migrants, the charity SOS Humanity said.

The ship was then "ordered to leave the port of Catania", but its captain refused, it said.

The charity said Italian authorities had decided after a "brief medical examination" that the 35 adults were "healthy", but said there was "no translator present to assess their mental and physical condition, nor was there a psychological evaluation".



Those rescued waited days at sea and sent multiple requests for a safe port in Italy© Giovanni ISOLINO

"Furthermore, the 35 survivors have the right to apply for asylum, and to a formal asylum procedure, which can only be carried out on land".

- Legal action -

The organisation said it would be taking legal action and appeals against the government's policy would be submitted to courts in Rome and Catania on Monday.



In a Sicilian port, Italy accepts some migrants, not others as tensions rise© Provided by AFP

Amnesty International urged Italy to stop discriminating, saying "the law of the sea is clear; a rescue ends when all those rescued are disembarked in a place of safety".

In a Sicilian port, Italy accepts some migrants, not others as tensions rise
View on Watch

Italy was "violating its international obligations", the rights organisation said.

Those refused permission to leave the Humanity 1 were "extremely depressed", SOS Humanity's press officer Petra Krischok told AFP.

MSF said the "selective and partial disembarkation" was illegal and accused politicians of "playing with (migrants') lives".

The Humanity 1 and Geo Barents were two of four ships that had requested a safe port. The Ocean Viking and Rise Above are still off the coast of Sicily.

A photographer on the Ocean Viking said there was "tension among the survivors", who were rescued 16 days ago and faced yet another cold night on deck as the weather worsened.

As the vessels waited, Alarm Phone, a group running a hotline for migrants needing rescue, said it had been alerted to "a large boat carrying about 500 people in distress" in the Mediterranean.

- 'Leave territorial waters' -

Italy's new far-right government has vowed to crack down on migrants attempting the perilous boat crossing from North Africa to Europe.

Over 87,000 people have landed in Italy so far this year, according to the interior ministry -- though only 14 percent of those were rescued at sea and brought to safety by charity vessels.

Interior minister Matteo Piantedosi earlier said those who do not "qualify" would have to "leave territorial waters".

Sources close to transport minister Matteo Salvini, who controls the ports, said they would be "provided with the assistance necessary" to do so.

Member of parliament Aboubakar Soumahoro, who was present as those chosen from the Humanity 1 disembarked, slammed the "selection of shipwrecked migrants".

The main opposition party said Piantedosi should offer an explanation to parliament.

- 'Europe's responsibility' -

Piantedosi said Saturday those migrants not allowed into Italy would have to be "taken care of by the flag state" -- a reference to the national flags under which vessels sail.

The Humanity 1 and Mission Lifeline charity's Rise Above sail under the German flag.

The Geo Barents and SOS Mediterranee's Ocean Viking are registered in Norway.

The Norwegian foreign ministry said Thursday it bore "no responsibility" for those rescued by private Norwegian-flagged ships in the Mediterranean.

Germany insisted in a diplomatic message to Italy that the charities were "making an important contribution to saving human lives" and asked Rome "to help them as soon as possible".

Pope Francis weighed in Sunday, saying that Italy "can do nothing without Europe's agreement" and telling journalists that as far as migrant arrivals were concerned, "it is Europe's responsibility".

ide/lcm

Planet Earth: 8 billion humans and dwindling resources

by Amélie BOTTOLLIER-DEPOIS

A crowded street is seen in the city of Changsha in China's Hunan province in September 

2020.

Are eight billion humans too many for planet Earth? As we reach this milestone on November 15, most experts say the bigger problem is the overconsumption of resources by the wealthiest residents.

"Eight billion people, it is a momentous milestone for humanity," said United Nations Population Fund chief Natalia Kanem, hailing an increase in life expectancy and fewer maternal and child deaths.

"Yet, I realize this moment might not be celebrated by all. Some express concerns that our world is overpopulated. I am here to say clearly that the sheer number of human lives is not a cause for fear."

So, are there too many of us for Earth to sustain?

Many experts say that this is the wrong question. Instead of the fear of overpopulation, we should focus on the overconsumption of the planet's resources by the wealthiest among us.

"Too many for whom, too many for what? If you ask me, am I too many? I don't think so," Joel Cohen of Rockefeller University's Laboratory of Populations told AFP.

He said the question of how many people Earth can support has two sides: natural limits and human choices.

'Stupid and greedy'

Our choices result in humans consuming far more biological resources, such as forests and land, than the planet can regenerate each year.

The overconsumption of fossil fuels, for example, leads to more carbon dioxide emissions, responsible for global warming.

We would need the biocapacity of 1.75 Earths to sustainably meet the needs of the current population, according to the Global Footprint Network and WWF NGOs.

The most recent UN climate report mentions population growth as one of the main drivers of an increase in greenhouse gases. However, it plays a smaller role than economic growth.

"We are stupid. We lacked foresight. We are greedy. We don't use the information we have. That's where the choices and the problems lie," said Cohen.

However, he rejects the idea that humans are a curse on the planet, saying people should be given better choices.

"Our impact on the planet is driven far more by our behavior than by our numbers," said Jennifer Sciubba, a researcher at the Wilson Center, a think tank.

"It's lazy and damaging to keep going back to overpopulation," she added, as this allows people in wealthy nations, who consume the most, to cast the blame for the planet's woes onto developing countries where population growth is highest.

"Really, it's us. It's me and you, the air conditioning I enjoy, the pool I have outside, and the meat I eat at night that causes so much more damage."

If everyone on the planet lived like a citizen of India, we would only need the capacity of 0.8 Earths a year, according to the Global Footprint Network and WWF. If we all consumed like a resident of the United States, we would need five Earths a year.

The United Nations estimates that our planet will be home to 9.7 billion people by 2050.

Women's rights

One of the trickiest questions that arise when discussing population is that of controlling fertility. Even those who believe we need to lower the Earth's population are adamant about protecting women's rights.

Robin Maynard, the executive director of the NGO Population Matters, says there needs to be a decrease in the population, but "only through positive, voluntary, rights-respecting means" and not "deplorable examples" of population control.

The NGO Project Drawdown lists education and family planning among the top 100 solutions to halt global warming.

"A smaller population with sustainable levels of consumption would reduce demands on energy, transportation, materials, food, and natural systems."

Vanessa Perez of the World Resources Institute agrees that "every person that is born on the planet puts additional stress on the planet."

"It is a very thorny issue," she said, adding that we should reject "this idea that the elite capture this narrative and say we need to cap population growth in the South."

She believes the most interesting debate is not about the number of people but "distribution and equity."

Cohen points out that even if we currently produce enough food for 8 billion people, there are still 800 million people who are "chronically undernourished."

"The concept of 'too many' avoids the much more difficult problem, which is: are we using what we know to make the human beings we have as healthy, productive, happy, peaceful, and prosperous as we could?"

© 2022 AFP

Alarm as Earth hits 'Overshoot Day' Thursday: NGOs

‘Why are we here?’: Climate activists shunted to COP27 sidelines


By AFP
PublishedNovember 6, 2022

'I was so happy when they announced that COP would be in Africa,' said Ugandan youth activist Nyombi Morris - Copyright AFP Mohammed ABED

Bassem Aboualabass

Ugandan youth activist Nyombi Morris arrived in Egypt for the UN’s COP27 climate summit with high hopes of being part of the campaign for environmental justice.

But it didn’t take long for Egypt’s stiff security measures to shatter his dreams, as rights groups warn the North African country has stifled protests with “dozens” of arrests.

“I was so happy when they announced that COP would be in Africa,” said Morris, who founded the Earth Volunteers youth organisation campaigning for “climate justice”.

“I thought maybe I would get a chance to be at the room where the negotiations are taking place.”

Instead, “with the questions we received at the airport, it will not be easy for us to continue with our plan”, the 24-year-old said.

In 2008, when Morris was 10, devastating flash floods hit Uganda’s eastern Butaleja district — an area where the illegal extraction of riverbank sand for construction was common. Some 400 people, including Morris’s family, lost their homes.

Morris, who has said the digging “exacerbated flooding already made worse by climate change”, said they had to move to the capital Kampala.

“I am here to represent my mother who lost a farm, who lost a home,” he said. “I am here to ask for compensation for my community.”

– ‘Abusive security measures’ –

Activists wanting to demonstrate at COP27, held in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, must request accreditation 36 hours in advance, providing information such as the names of the protest organisers and details of the proposed march.

Approved demonstrations are only allowed during working hours, and in a specific purpose-built area.

That accreditation process is risky, Morris fears.

“When they started asking about our locations, where we will be staying, our passports, our names, we were worried,” he said.

“What if they follow one of us and (we) get arrested?”

He cited the case of Indian climate activist Ajit Rajagopal, who was arrested after setting off to march from Cairo to Sharm el-Sheikh. He was later released after an international outcry.

Human Rights Watch on Sunday warned that “dozens of people” calling for protests had been detained.

“Egypt’s government has no intention of easing its abusive security measures and allowing for free speech and assembly,” the watchdog said.

Rights groups say at least 138 people have been arrested ahead of a rally slated for November 11 — planned nationwide but not in Sharm el-Sheikh — against what they decry as repression and sharp increases in the cost of living.

– ‘Watching online’ –

Africa is home to some of the countries least responsible for planet-heating emissions but hardest hit by an onslaught of weather extremes.

On top of security restrictions, Morris lamented that activists like him were excluded from the talks.

“I am watching online because our ‘observers’ badges don’t allow us to enter,” he said.

“I’m like ‘so, why are we here?'”

He said his hopes have faded that having the summit in Africa might make a difference — including in demanding wealthy nations responsible for emissions pay their dues.

“It is not an African COP, it is a polluters’ COP — because it is polluters dominating,” he said.

“Haven’t you seen Coca-Cola here?” he added, referring to one of this year’s official sponsors.

Campaign group Greenpeace has called Egypt’s choice of the soft drink giant “appalling”, blaming the company for much of the “plastic pollution in the world”.

Last year, at the COP26 in Glasgow, tens of thousands of demonstrators from all over the world marched to demand “climate justice”.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg is skipping COP27, slamming it as a forum for “greenwashing” and saying the “space for civil society this year is extremely limited”.

On Sunday, ignoring the restrictions, a handful of activists waved banners at the entrance to the summit hall.

“We are trying to promote the veganism to help save the planet from the greenhouse gases”, said Tom Modgmah, a follower of Vietnamese “Supreme Master Ching Hai”, alongside colleagues waving banners.

“Be vegan, make peace,” they read.

Vietnam struggles to break one of world's biggest coal addictions

Alice PHILIPSON
Sun, November 6, 2022 


Despite Vietnam's solar boom and ambitious climate targets, the fast-growing economy is struggling to quit dirty energy -- leaving one of the world's biggest coal power programmes largely intact.

During the COP26 climate summit last year, the government boldly promised to end the construction of new coal plants and phase out the dirtiest of those already running, even as energy demands soar in the manufacturing powerhouse.

"But this is not actually what Vietnam is doing at a national level," Nandini Das, an energy research and policy analyst at Climate Analytics, told AFP.

Vietnam pledged to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, but with coal and gas still a major part of its energy mix one year later, that commitment is on shaky ground, she said.


The authoritarian communist state has also jailed four green activists this year, including anti-coal campaigner Nguy Thi Khanh, alarming environmentalists who argue it will be even harder for Vietnam to banish dirty energy without them.


"With the climate leaders in prison I think there's grave doubt about the country's ability to achieve its goals," said Michael Sutton, director of the Goldman Environmental Foundation.

He said "leaders like Khanh are instrumental in building public support" for radical change to Vietnam's economy.
- Solar boom -

After China and India, Vietnam has the world's third-largest pipeline of new coal power projects.

But at COP27 this week, G7 countries could announce billions of dollars in funding to help steer Vietnam away from fossil fuels and the country could attract billions more in clean energy investment as part of the Just Energy Transition Partnership.

The rise of solar energy in the Southeast Asian nation has also been meteoric.


The share of electricity generated by solar saw the biggest rise in the world in 2021, jumping to 10 percent from two percent a year earlier, according to independent energy think tank Ember.

Last year, the country ranked in the top 10 globally for solar energy capacity.

In the Mekong Delta, farmer Doan Van Tien -- whose community is poor, remote and has little access to the national grid -- is one of those who benefited.

For most of his life, he relied on a costly oil generator, until the arrival of 14 solar power batteries funded by Green ID, the non-profit environmental group founded by activist Khanh.

"It changed my life a lot," he told AFP, gesturing to his lucrative avocado and mandarin crops.

"In the past we wanted to grow these fruit trees but we could not (afford to power) the water pump," he said. Now he waters his plants for free.

Others jumped on solar thanks to generous feed-in tariffs, but its success has hit a roadblock: infrastructure limitations mean transmission lines cannot handle supply spikes, forcing a limit on how much power operators can feed into the grid.
- Changing mindsets -

In other strides down a greener path, the environment ministry's latest climate targets, issued in July, are "clear and much more ambitious than previous" goals, according to Thang Do, a research fellow at the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University.


The ministry's new strategy boosted the reduction target for greenhouse gases by 2030 from last year's goal of nine percent relative to business as usual, to 43.5 percent. Emissions are expected to peak in 2035 before falling to net-zero in 2050.

The problem, Das argued, is that the new policies have yet to be implemented.

"We'll give it six months to see," she said.

The arrests of climate campaigners have made Vietnam's energy intentions even more difficult to decipher.

Khanh worked closely with the government to find a way to reduce coal use, while Dang Dinh Bach, an NGO worker, made it his mission to inform residents about the health impacts of potential power plant projects.

He "offered advice to them so they understood their rights and could practice those rights", Bach's wife Tran Phuong Thao told AFP.

In 2017, Bach and his non-profit group Law & Policy of Sustainable Development helped push the government into a rare climbdown over a power plant in Binh Thuan province that it had permitted to sink a million cubic metres of coal sludge into the sea.

He was arrested in June 2021, and sentenced this year to five years in prison.


Although there is little time to waste for Vietnam, one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change due to its long and densely populated coastline, researcher Thang believes there is no choice but to be patient.

"The whole economy is now dependent on coal so that makes it very challenging to change," he said.

"It's not an easy decision to make to just close a coal power plant and tomorrow we'll open a solar and wind, it takes a lot of time and resources and also mindsets to be changed."

bur-aph/dva/dhc

Hackers targeted critics of Qatar World Cup, says British investigation

NEWS WIRES - Yesterday

An India-based computer hacking gang targeted critics of the Qatar World Cup, an investigation by British journalists said on Sunday, as the Qatari government furiously denied it had played any part in commissioning the eavesdropping.


Hackers targeted critics of Qatar World Cup, says British investigation© Karim Jaafar, AFP

A database leaked to Britain's Sunday Times and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism revealed the hacking of a dozen lawyers, journalists and famous people from 2019 "commissioned by one particular client", the newspaper and the bureau said in a statement.

"This investigation points strongly to this client being the host of (the) World Cup: Qatar," it said, prompting the Qatari authorities to describe the allegation as "patently false and without merit".

Among those targeted was Michel Platini, the former head of European football.

Platini, who was hacked ahead of talks with French police about World Cup related graft claims, told AFP he was "surprised and deeply shocked" by the report.

He said he would be exploring all possible legal avenues over what appeared to be a serious "violation" of his privacy.

London-based consultant Ghanem Nuseibeh whose company Cornerstone produced a report on corruption relating to the World Cup was also targeted, the Sunday Times said in its report based on the joint investigation.

Others included Nathalie Goulet, a French senator and vocal critic of Qatar for allegedly financing "Islamic terrorism" and Mark Somos, a Germany-based lawyer, who had made a complaint about the Qatari royal family to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

More than 100 targeted

The controversy comes two weeks before the World Cup is due to kick off in the conservative Gulf state on November 20.

The newspaper alleged that the hacking was masterminded by a 31-year-old accountancy firm employee, who denies the claims.

Based in a suburb of the Indian tech city of Gurugram near Delhi, his network of computer hackers allegedly ensnared their targets using "phishing" techniques to gain access to their email inboxes, sometimes also deploying malicious software to take control of their computer cameras and microphones.

Hacking attacks were not limited, however, to those with an interest in the Qatar World Cup.

In total more than 100 victims had their private email accounts targeted by the gang "on behalf of investigators working for autocratic states, British lawyers and their wealthy clients", the report said.

These included politicians dealing with issues relating to Russia such as Britain's former finance minister Philip Hammond.

He was targeted during a period when he was dealing with the aftermath of the 2018 Novichok attack on former double agent Sergei Skripal which the UK has blamed on Russia.

The Swiss president and his deputy were also hacked days after the president met then British prime minister Boris Johnson to discuss Russian sanctions.

The gang also seized control of computers owned by Pakistani politicians and generals and had their conversations monitored, "apparently at the behest of the Indian secret services", the Sunday Times added.

'No evidence'

A Qatari official rejected the allegations, describing the Bureau of Investigative Journalism's (TBIJ) report as "littered with glaring inconsistencies and falsehoods that undermine the credibility of their organisation".

"The report relies on a single source who claims his ultimate client was Qatar, despite there being no evidence to prove it," the official told AFP in a statement.

"Numerous companies have also boasted of non-existent ties to Qatar in an attempt to boost their profile in the run up to the World Cup.

"TBIJ's decision to publish the report without a single piece of credible evidence to connect their allegations to Qatar raises serious concerns about their motives, which appear to be driven by political, rather than public interest, reasons," the official added.

(AFP)

Facebook parent company Meta planning mass layoffs, Wall Street Journal reports

NEWS WIRES
Mon, 7 November 2022 

© Dado Ruvic, Reuters
Facebook-parent Meta will become the latest tech firm to scale back its workforce, with plans to layoff thousands of employees this week, US media reported Sunday.

The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that the layoffs could impact "many thousands" of Meta employees and that an announcement was expected as soon as Wednesday.

As of September 30, Meta had about 87,000 employees worldwide across its different platforms, which include social media sites Facebook and Instagram as well as messaging platform Whatsapp.

In his announcement of Meta's disappointing third quarter results, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the firm's staff would not increase by the end of 2023, and might decrease slightly.

The latest plans from Meta follow recent announcements by other tech firms to freeze hiring or cut their workforce as the industry fights economic headwinds.

Last Thursday, Silicon Valley firms Stripe and Lyft announced large-scale layoffs while Amazon said it would freeze hiring in its corporate offices.

Twitter, freshly acquired by Elon Musk, abruptly fired about half of its 7,500 employees last week.

Ad-supported platforms such as Facebook and Alphabet's Google are suffering from advertisers' budget cuts as they struggle with inflation and rising interest rates.

Meta's stock price took a major hit on the disappointing results, falling 25 percent in one day.

Twitter asks dozens of laid off workers to return to work: report

globalnewsdigital - Yesterday

After Twitter Inc laid off roughly half its staff on Friday following Elon Musk's $44 billion acquisition, the company is now reaching out to dozens of employees who lost their jobs and asking them to return, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday.


After Twitter Inc laid off roughly half its staff on Friday following Elon Musk's $44 billion acquisition, the company is now reaching out to dozens of employees who lost their jobs and asking them to return, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday.© (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)

Some of those who are being asked to return were laid off by mistake. Others were let go before management realized that their work and experience may be necessary to build the new features Musk envisions, the report said citing people familiar with the moves.

Twitter recently laid off 50% of its employees, including employees on the trust and safety team, the company's head of safety and integrity Yoel Roth said in a tweet earlier this week.

Tweets by staff of the social media company said teams responsible for communications, content curation, human rights and machine learning ethics were among those gutted, as were some product and engineering teams.

Twitter on Saturday updated its app in Apple's App Store to begin charging $8 for sought-after blue check verification marks, in Musk's first major revision of the social media platform.

Twitter did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

(Reporting by Jaiveer Singh Shekhawat in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

Ontario education workers will be off the job Monday no matter what labour board rules: CUPE

Sun, November 6, 2022 

Ned Sharp, a teacher at the York Region District School Board, joined hundreds of supporters who took over Toronto's downtown core Saturday in solidarity with striking CUPE workers. (Alexis Raymon/CBC - image credit)

Ontario education workers will be off the job on Monday and in the days following even if an Ontario labour board determines their strike is illegal, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) confirmed to CBC News.

Members of the union are off the job and political protests will continue into next week, a CUPE spokesperson said in an email to CBC Sunday night.

Thousands of education workers, including education assistants, custodians and librarians, walked off the job on Friday to protest the provincial government passing legislation that banned strikes and imposed a four-year contract, using the notwithstanding clause to avoid constitutional challenges.

A hearing at the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) to determine the legality of the strike concluded Sunday after three days of arguments between lawyers for the provincial government and CUPE.

CUPE's intention to continue their job action regardless of what the board rules was first reported by The Globe and Mail.

OLRB chair Brian O'Byrne said he hopes to render a decision before the school week begins, but he's not sure it can be done.

"I honestly cannot tell you when I will get you a bottom line," O'Byrne said. "I'm going to try and do it by today. Hopefully I'll succeed."

A government lawyer argued before the board that it doesn't matter whether the contract that now binds 55,000 employees was negotiated with their input or imposed upon them.

Ferina Murji said strikes are prohibited in the midst of any contract, not just one that was ratified by union membership.

"A collective agreement is a collective agreement is a collective agreement," she said.

WATCH | CUPE to continue job action this week, regardless of ruling:

The government is seeking a ruling that their walkout is illegal, while CUPE — which represents education workers — contends the job action is a form of legitimate political protest.

The strike closed numerous schools across the province Friday, with even more set to shut on Monday.

"With 55,000 people not attending schools across the province, that means millions of students and their parents are left with nowhere to go, are left not learning, not getting the education that the Education Act ensures they will get," Murji said, stressing the importance of the board's intervention.

Several Ontario school boards said they will move to remote learning next week indefinitely if the education workers' strike continues. Some boards, including the Toronto District School Board, said they will move online as soon as Monday. In-person classes at northern Ontario's largest school board will resume Monday after they were cancelled Friday, the Rainbow District School Board confirmed in a letter to parents.

'Frenzied and sleep-deprived'

O'Byrne heard arguments over the course of 16 hours on Saturday, with the hearing stretching into early Sunday morning, before resuming just hours later, at 7 a.m.

As Day 3 of the hearing got underway, O'Byrne noted the "frenzied and sleep-deprived context of the hearings."

Earlier in the proceedings, CUPE's lawyer argued that an imposed contract should not be treated the same way as one that was negotiated through collective bargaining.

"I do accept that Bill 28 is in writing. But it is not a voluntarily negotiated agreement," Steven Barrett said on Saturday.

"It is deemed to be a collective agreement under Section 5 ... but to call this a mid-contract withdrawal of services, as if this was a collective agreement freely negotiated, is a fundamental absurdity."

Barrett told O'Byrne that should he deem the strike legal, the job action could continue until the government repeals its new legislation or until the union and government negotiate its end.

The province's new law has set fines for violating the ban on strikes of up to $4,000 per employee per day — which could amount to $220 million for all 55,000 workers — and up to $500,000 per day for the union.

CUPE has said it will fight the fines, but will also pay them if it has to.

Poll finds majority blame Ford government

Meanwhile, Ontario residents appear to be placing blame on Premier Doug Ford's Progressive Conservative government for the contract dispute, according to a new public opinion poll released Sunday.

The online poll from Abacus Data found that 62 per cent of respondents blame the provincial government for schools closing after education workers walked off the job Friday. Thirty-eight per cent point the finger at the workers.

Sixty-eight per cent of parents of school-aged children believe the Ford government bears the most responsibility, the survey found, while 71 per cent of respondents want the province to negotiate a "fair deal" with education workers, rather than continue with its current strategy.

The poll, conducted on Nov. 4 and 5, surveyed 1,000 adults and comes with a margin of error of 3.1 per cent, 19 times out of 20, according to Abacus Data.

WATCH | Education Minister Stephen Lecce says province will continue to use every tool to open schools:

The union had been seeking annual salary increases of 11.7 per cent for its workers, who make on average $39,000 a year, but the imposed contract would give 2.5 per cent annual raises to workers making less than $43,000 and 1.5 per cent raises for all others.

Laura Walton, president of CUPE's Ontario School Boards' Council of Unions, said the results of the poll show Ontarians support the education workers in their job action.

"This poll confirms what we already knew: that the majority of people support education workers, that they see through the Ford government's lies about working for workers and students, that they know $39,000 isn't enough, and that they believe workers' rights to freely bargain and strike if necessary must always be protected," Walton said in a statement.

"Seven out of 10 Ontarians want the government to negotiate a fair deal. That starts with repealing Bill 28, an unjust law which Ontarians know is like giving a schoolyard bully a sledgehammer."

CBC News has reached out to the office of the premier and the education minister for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

UK

Cost of living: Millions have no savings as prices soar

Sun, November 6, 2022 

A family dealing with money problems

A quarter of UK adults have less than £100 set aside in savings, a survey suggests, leaving them vulnerable to rising and unexpected bills.

The lack of a financial safety net means many have to borrow money to cover any extra costs, creating greater anxiety about their plight.

One mother told the BBC she was scared of being judged so did not seek help.

The Money and Pensions Service, which conducted the research, said such fears could be overcome with family help.

Debt advisors are expecting a sharp increase in enquiries over the winter as people struggle to fund higher food and energy bills, with little to fall back on.
'I wish I'd asked for help earlier'

This latest survey of 3,000 people found that 17% - or one in six - of those asked held nothing in savings. Another 5% had less than £50 and a further 4% had between £50 and £100 set aside.

If those figures reflect the UK as a whole, then millions of people will have little or nothing as a savings buffer.

Among them is Kylie, a mother-of-six who faced difficulties that left her failing to pay critical, and priority, bills. She just about managed to pay her rent, to keep a roof over her family's head, but was behind on many other payments.

The 31-year-old said some of the more aggressive debt collection left her children frightened, and her finances were in a mess.

Her energy provider told her to seek help from a debt charity, but she said she was scared to do so.

"I felt like I would be judged and looked down on," she said.

When she did eventually seek help, the advisors were kind and helpful, she said, and crucially told her about the various hardships funds and grants that were available to her.

"But I would have been in a better position if I had done it earlier," she said.

She came to an arrangement with her creditors, so she pays back a more affordable amount each month. She recently managed to save £40 - for the first time in years.

The idea of saving money will be alien to many people struggling with the rising cost of living. A recent survey by the Building Societies Association (BSA) found 35% of those questioned had stopped saving as a result of the rising cost of living.

Meanwhile, 36% of those asked said they were relying on their savings to get through a period of rising bills and prices. Some credit unions are offering ways to help families save for expensive times of year, such as Christmas.
Talking to loved ones

The Money and Pensions Service runs the Moneyhelper website, which includes a free debt advice locator.

It is running a week-long Talk Money campaign urging people to open up about their finances and is encouraging people to plan for their financial future and take free debt advice as soon as they realise they could be facing difficulties.

"Millions of people find it a challenge to save, and this leaves them vulnerable when sudden expenditure items arise. When you add in the anxiety that they feel with their credit commitments, the weight of that worry can quickly become overwhelming," said Caroline Siarkiewicz, chief executive of the government-backed organisation.

"We want everyone to start the conversation with family or friends and share the burden of any money worries. By dealing with the problem head on, people can discover just how helpful free debt advice can be and see the importance of talking to their creditors early. They can also begin to find a way forward, no matter how difficult their situation might feel."

Kylie, meanwhile, is looking forward to Christmas, but with some trepidation. She said her food bill shot up when her children were on school holidays.

"I am trying to do my best, and save for Christmas," she said. "At the moment, we are just living week by week."

Union says about 2,200 GO Transit workers to strike Monday morning after failing to reach a deal

Sun, November 6, 2022 

The union representing 2,200 GO Transit workers will be on strike as of 12:01 a.m. on Monday, the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1587 announced Sunday. 

(Evan Mitsui/CBC - image credit)

Commuters across much of southern Ontario may find themselves scrambling for alternative means of transport after the union representing 2,200 GO Transit employees announced members would be walking off the job as of Monday morning.

The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1587 issued a statement on Sunday saying it was unable to secure a new contract with Metrolinx, the operator of the regional transport service covering much of the Greater Toronto and Golden Horseshoe areas.

The strike, which will involve bus operators, station attendants and other employees, is set to get underway at 12:01 a.m. on Monday. Metrolinx has previously indicated that bus service will be suspended if a strike takes place, though trains will remain in service.

ATU Local 1587 president Rob Cormier said bargaining talks broke down over safety concerns related to hiring contract workers from outside companies.

"Negotiations have failed because Metrolinx failed to come to the table with a reasonable offer to address any of our key issues," he said in the union statement.

"Protections against contracting out are imperative to ensure that experienced workers are on the job running GO Transit safely and efficiently. Without these protections, Metrolinx can contract to outside companies which will hire inexperienced workers in precarious, non-union positions."

Cormier confirmed to CBC News that the union had walked away from the bargaining table on Sunday.

Commuters urged to plan ahead, prepare for longer trips

Metrolinx issued a statement saying the union walked away from weekend negotiations and declined a request to return to the table on Monday.

Anne Marie Aikins, the company's head of media and public relations, said the transit operator had been optimistic it could ink a new deal after proposing dozens of "enhancements" to the collective bargaining agreement.

Aikins acknowledged ATU's concerns about contracting outside workers, but maintained the company has measures in place to ensure safety for all.

"For 22 years, we have had language in the agreement that protects the employment security of our ATU employees," she said in a statement.

"This long-standing protection will continue to protect existing staff as well as new hires joining Metrolinx."

Aikins encouraged customers to plan ahead, prepare extra time for commutes and stay informed on strike developments through GO Transit's website and social media accounts.

ATU has said negotiations with Metrolinx began in April and members have been working without a contract since June 1.

It said 81 per cent of members voted against a contract offer put forward by Metrolinx, a move Aikins has previously described as disappointing. She said Sunday the company remained "open to discussing ways forward" with the union.

The GO Transit strike comes three days after thousands of Ontario education workers represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees walked off the job indefinitely. ATU has said it supports those workers.