The history of chocolate: when money really did grow on trees


Kathryn Sampeck, Global Professor in Historical Archaeology, University of Reading
Wed, 21 December 2022 

Advent calendars with hidden chocolatey treats, huge tins of Quality Street and steaming cups of hot chocolate festooned with whipped cream and marshmallows are all much-loved wintry staples at Christmastime. But how many of us stop to think about where chocolate actually comes from and how it made its way into our culinary culture?

The story of chocolate has a compelling, rich history that academics like me are learning more about every day.

Chocolate is made by fermenting, drying, roasting and grinding the seeds of a small, tropical tree of the genus Theobroma. Most chocolate sold today is made from the species Theobroma cacao, but Indigenous peoples in South America, Central America and Mexico make food, drink and medicine with many other Theobroma species.

Indigenous Mesoamerican man with implements to prepare and serve chocolate. 

Philippe Sylvestre Dufour / John Carter Brown Library, Brown University, Author provided

Cacao was domesticated at least 4,000 years ago, first in the Amazon basin and then in Central America. The oldest archaeological evidence of cacao, possibly as old as 3,500 BCE, comes from Ecuador. In Mexico and Central America, vessels with cacao residues date to as early as 1,900 BCE.

Cacao is the name in many languages of Mesoamerica (Mexico and Central America) for both the tree, the seed and the preparations that come from it; people who use this word give a nod to that ancient, Indigenous past. Cacao is a convenient catch-all term, the way “bread” in English describes a baked food made of flour, water and yeast.

For thousands of years, Mesoamericans have used cacao for many purposes: as a ritual offering, a medicine, and a key ingredient in both special occasion and everyday food and drink – each of which had different names. One of these special, local cacao concoctions was called “chocolat”.
Colonialists and currency

How did chocolate take off like wildfire when its birthplace has been long neglected? The most popular initial use of cacao in the 16th century, by colonists from Europe and Africa in Latin America, was as currency rather than something to eat or drink.

My research on cacao as money shows its steady development in the crucial role of small coin, as one of several commodity monies in pre-Colombian Mesoamerica. The Rio Ceniza valley in what is now western El Salvador was an extraordinary producer, among only four high-volume farming centres that greatly expanded the cacao money supply in the 13th century.

Spanish colonists quickly made the convenient and reliable cacao money legal tender for all kinds of transactions. However, they were initially dubious about ingesting the substance, debating its health effects and flavour. The Rio Ceniza valley, known then by the Indigenous name Izalcos, became famous as the place where money grew on trees and newly arrived colonists could make a fortune. Their local, unique cacao drink was “chocolat”.

Crossing the world

Despite a hesitant start, chocolate had become hugely popular in Europe by the late 16th century. Among a host of new flavours from the Americas, chocolate was especially captivating. Most importantly, drinking chocolate became a way to socialise.

It also became increasingly associated with luxury and indulgence, to the point of sinfulness, as well as healthful properties that particularly enhanced beauty and fertility. By the 1600s, Europeans were using the word chocolate to describe cacao-flavoured sweets, drinks and sauces.

Chocolate soon began to change the way people did things. As Spanish literature scholar Carolyn Nadeau points out: “Prior to chocolate, breakfast was not a communal event as lunch and dinner were.” As chocolate became increasingly popular in Spain, so too did breakfast. It was also fashionable as a mid-afternoon or late-night snack, taken with bread rolls or even fried bread – the ancestor of today’s breakfast-time churros.

By the 18th century, a variety of recipes using chocolate filled the pages of European cookbooks, demonstrating how important it had become at all levels of society. Far from its Indigenous Central American origins, enslaved Africans, labouring on new plantations in Latin America and later in west Africa, grew much of the cacao that fed the expanding global market. For makers and consumers, chocolate developed vivid connections to class, gender and race. Chocolate became an evocative shorthand for blackness.

Steep inequalities have become entrenched ever more deeply with the globalisation of chocolate. For example, 75% of chocolate consumption takes place in Europe, the US and Canada, yet 100% of the world’s cocoa is produced by Black, Indigenous, Latin American and Asian people – areas that consume only 25% of the world’s finished chocolate, with Africans consuming the least at 4%.

It is largely produced by hand and is a source of livelihood for up to 50m people in mostly developing countries. The COVID-19 pandemic made things even worse. Reduction in movement, limitations on gatherings, supply chain interruptions and poor access to healthcare hit producing communities hard.

Meanwhile large cocoa buyers and traders reduced or paused their cocoa purchasing for as long as two years to weather the storm of uncertain consumer demand throughout the pandemic.
Inequality, fair trade and farmers

Current trends have deep roots in chocolate’s past. Chocolate consumption continues to grow. Europeans are today’s largest consumers of chocolate and the UK is among the highest in Europe, with a per capita consumption of 8.1kg per year and the largest market for fair trade chocolate.

As the chocolate market grows, so too do problems of social inequality and ecological disruption. Carla Martin, founder and director of the Fine Cacao and Chocolate Institute, and I have explained that a path towards economic, social and environmental sustainability will require a range of significant investments.

The University of Reading has already made vital efforts with the Cocoa Germplasm Database to help farmers identify and access cacao’s genetic diversity, and to understand how genetic profiles relate to greater crop resilience and productivity.

Innovative social enterprises such as Cocoa360 are incubators for addressing the big challenges that cacao farmers face, and charting a more hopeful future for chocolate and those who produce it. Food for thought as you unwrap another Ferrero Rocher this Christmas.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The Conversation

Kathryn Sampeck receives funding from The British Academy, the National Science Foundation, the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, the Social Science Research Council, the Institute for International Education Fulbright Program.

From Queen Elizabeth to Sanna Marin, young women in politics have always faced prejudice

Emma Crewe, Professor of Social Anthropology, SOAS, University of London
Wed, 21 December 2022 at 11:56 pm GMT-7·5-min read
In this article:
Sanna Marin
Finnish politician and the 46th Prime Minister of Finland


Two prime ministers meeting to discuss relations between their countries is standard practice in international politics. But New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern and Finland’s Sanna Marin had to defend a recent summit after a reporter asked whether they met because they are both young, female leaders.

As prime ministers, Ardern and Marin have indeed broken barriers in politics. But the prejudice demonstrated by this question has a long history. Young women have always faced scepticism about their experience and ability to rule.

This was even true of the late Queen Elizabeth II. Questioning 15 prime ministers in weekly private sessions for 70 years surely gave her insight into the challenges of government. But when she first took the throne, Winston Churchill thought she was “just a child” and too inexperienced for the role, according to historian Kate Williams. We have to wonder whether he would have said that about a 25-year-old king.

Quarter life, a series by The Conversation
This article is part of Quarter Life, a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties. From the challenges of beginning a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet or just making friends as an adult. The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.

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UK society has a complicated relationship with age. Older people are seen as wise and experienced, but also out of touch and mentally and physically in decline. Younger people are seen as inventive but unreliable, or even reckless.

These are merely generalisations, of course. But they still have an impact on workplaces and political institutions, making it easier for older people to establish themselves as experts. It is partly for this reason that the UK parliament remains dominated by older people.

This is certainly true in the House of Lords, which retains 92 places for hereditary peers. Hereditary political positions are extremely risky and, of course, unfair. They privilege a tiny number of families, and especially the older generation because you only become eligible when the peer before you (usually your parent) dies.

The rest of the peers are appointed after establishing their careers, so the age of the House of Lords is high to begin with. But as people increasingly marry and die later, it is skewed even further – this year, the average age was 71.

The House of Commons is slightly younger – the average age of MPs was 51 in 2019. In the last 50 years, we have seen an increase in the number of MPs aged 60-69 up to 105. Although those aged between 18-29 have also risen, they still only number 21 MPs.

Young women in the UK parliament

The few young people in the House of Commons are patronised, particularly the women. Prejudice is perpetuated by unthinking negligence as much as active hostility. For decades, MPs and peers of colour (especially women) have reported to me over and over again in interviews that security officers, and even other politicians, assume they are staff or visitors. If you are already struggling with imposter syndrome, which many politicians do, imagine how off-putting it is when people assume you are automatically out of place.

Young women in politics are also frequently targets of horrifying online abuse. In a debate asking the House to consider misogyny a hate crime in 2018, Mhairi Black, the youngest MP ever to be elected aged 20, explained:

There is no softening just how sexualised and misogynistic the abuse is … I’ve been assured multiple times that I don’t have to worry because I am so ugly that no one would want to rape me. All of these insults have been tailored to me because I am a woman.

Even when the abuse is patronising rather than violent, it can be seriously undermining. Just months before her meeting with Ardern, Finland’s leader Marin (at 37, one of the world’s youngest heads of state) was criticised over a video showing her dancing and singing during a night out. The international backlash and political pressure led to Marin taking a drugs test (it was negative). Still, her behaviour was associated with the frivolity of youth – all the more so because she was a good dancer rather than a clumsy one.

All politicians are vulnerable to opponents leaking damaging material, but the specificity of this criticism was significantly shaped by her being a young woman. It was presumably designed to chime with the prejudice that young women tend to be fun-loving and unserious. Politics is serious, and still seen as the preserve of men in most countries around the world.
Prejudice in parliaments

Sociologist Nirmal Puwar has pointed out that women – especially young, minority ethnic and working-class women – are seen as invaders into political spaces that have been occupied by white men for centuries.

Societal inequalities around age and gender are often amplified in spaces like parliament, where representatives engage in intense power struggles. Prejudice based on these issues is used as a weapon by politicians (and their supporters) against each other to patronise, make allegations and exclude.

But the opposite of prejudice – a sense of common, shared experience – can be an antidote. In solidarity with Marin, women in Finland and Denmark uploaded videos of themselves dancing, a riposte to misogyny and ageism that did no harm to anyone.

At a time when older people are increasingly struggling to keep up with the digital world and lack a sense of urgency about climate change (the effects of which will hardly affect them), they may need to make way for more young people in the political world, whether we like it or not. We just need to figure out a way to make being in the public eye more bearable for these young politicians.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The Conversation

Emma Crewe receives funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AH/W006944/1) and the European Research Council (834986).

Nurses: attracting more men to the profession could help with talent shortage

Zografia Bika, Professor of Entrepreneurship, University of East Anglia 

and Adi Gaskell, Senior Research Associate, University of East Anglia
Wed, 21 December 2022 

Seldom has the state of the NHS workforce been more in the public consciousness. A global survey of nurses undertaken by the consultancy firm McKinsey in the summer of 2022 highlighted the perilous state of the sector. The survey, which was conducted in France, Singapore, Japan, the US, Australia, Brazil and the UK, found that around one in four nurses was considering leaving the profession. Central to this desire was the burnout that was caused by being overworked and understaffed.

It’s a situation that has been widely discussed in the UK as a result of the first-ever strike by members of the Royal College of Nursing in England. Data from NHS Digital reveals that there are over 133,000 unfilled vacancies across NHS England, with about one in three of these vacancies for registered nurses. The extent of the crisis is underlined by the fact that this figure has grown by 19% on the same period last year.

The huge number of unfilled vacancies has led to an understandable call for a renewed focus on recruiting new nurses into the NHS. It’s an effort that would be greatly helped if the sector was as attractive to men as it is to women. Indeed, official data from the Nursing and Midwifery Council shows that just 11% of registered nurses in the UK today identify as men.

Gender stereotypes

This matters in a number of ways. First, men can often suffer from discrimination when applying to or working in stereotypically female roles. Indeed, research has shown that men receive about 40% fewer requests for interviews when applying for jobs in female-dominated sectors.

These gender-based stereotypes emerge as early as five years of age, with children associating certain professions with men and others with women – and they are incredibly hard to shift. To do so will require a rethink about how nurses are portrayed both in the media and in communication between the industry and the wider public.

We have seen in attempts to increase the number of women studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) subjects, and participating in those industries, that having a strong supply of role models significantly increases participation by women. Just as those efforts have had to confound the stereotype that science and engineering were male disciplines, so too do we need a concerted effort to show that men can thrive as nurses as well.

Research shows that going against gender norms carries a social and emotional cost, but whereas there has grown to be less stigma associated with women when they perform “men’s” jobs, the same is not the case when men perform “women’s” jobs. This is confounded by the stereotyping often associated with male nurses as either effeminate or homosexual (or failed doctors).

Not only is the healthcare sector facing a chronic skills shortage today, but it is also estimated that the number of jobs in the sector will grow by 13% by 2031. While there has been a justifiable focus on Stem subjects as underpinning the jobs of tomorrow, jobs in healthcare promise to be more important than ever due to the ageing society and general trend towards greater spending on healthcare. If the industry is to meet those needs, it cannot afford to overlook half of the population.

The successful efforts to increase female participation in Stem point to several approaches that could be adopted to do likewise for male participation in health-related roles.

For instance, healthcare organisations and universities should actively target men for vacancies and training opportunities. This should be done in conjunction with providing more positive male role models. The potential of this was highlighted by a recent NHS campaign, called We are the NHS, which resulted in a record number of male school leavers applying to be nurses. The campaign was backed by actor Charles Venn, who plays a nurse in the BBC series Casualty.

It’s an outcome that needs to be built upon, with investment to back up such campaigns. For instance, in the US, The American Association for Men in Nursing offers scholarships for men who have embarked on a career in nursing, but while this is encouraging, it is not at the same level as the financial support offered to Stem-related projects.

Getting more men into nursing has clear benefits for both the NHS and for society as a whole, but achieving it will require a truly national effort. We’ve shown what’s possible with the drive to get more women into Stem. Now we need to replicate that to ensure men feel that nursing is a career for them.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The Conversation

Zografia Bika currently receives EU funding from the Interreg France (Channel) England Programme (2018-2023) called 'Increase Valorisation Sociale' ('social value' in French) that offers micro-enterprise and employment-support services to those furthest from the labour market, who are often 'invisible' and face various complex barriers to work.

Adi Gaskell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Weather leaves offshore workers stranded in North Sea ahead of Christmas

Craig Williams
Wed, 21 December 2022 

The Tyra II offshore development in the North Sea (Image: TotalEnergies)

There are fears that hundreds of offshore workers could be forced to spend Christmas on platforms in the North Sea due to disruption to helicopter transport caused by adverse weather.

French firm TotalEnergies said the disruption was down to a phenomenon known as ‘triggered lightning’, which is caused by polar air passing over a warmer sea surface.

TotalEnergies confirmed that the phenomenon was responsible for the cancellation of 52 flights so far in November and December 2022, compared to zero cancellations during the same period in 2021.

All of TotalEnergies’s manned offshore installations in the North Sea, located around 250 kilometres off the coast of Denmark, are normally serviced by helicopters, which on a normal weekday transport approximately 130 people back and forth out of a total offshore workforce of over 1,000 persons.

READ MORE: All staff made redundant as Scottish manufacturer collapses

However, because of the disruption, over 250 workers, many of whom are Scottish, should have left who continue to wait for transport to shore at the Danish seaport town of Esbjerg.

TotalEnergies said it “fully understands” the difficult situation offshore workers currently find themselves in and that it is doing all it can to get all those stranded on its offshore installations back to shore before Christmas.

A spokesperson for TotalEnergies told The Herald: “TotalEnergies is very concerned about the disturbances of the helicopter transport caused by adverse weather. We fully understand the challenging situation that is faced by personnel wanting to get home in time for the holidays, and we are doing all we can to get everyone transported onshore safely as soon as possible.

“All our manned offshore installations are normally serviced by helicopters, which on a normal weekday transport approximately 130 people back and forth out of a total workforce offshore of approx. 1250 persons. Since the flights have not been able to take place to the required extent, there are approx. 255 people who should have left and are now awaiting transport to shore.

“Helicopter transports during wintertime around the North Sea are always challenging due to ice, fog, wind speeds and other factors. This year has been particularly impacted by so-called “triggered lightning” which is caused by polar air passing over a warmer sea surface.

“We never compromise with the safety of our employees, neither on the platforms offshore nor during the transport back and forth between Esbjerg and the fields 250 km out in the North Sea.”

TotalEnergies also confirmed that it has called in extra helicopters to increase flights when the weather allows and chartered three boats to collect workers stranded offshore.

A spokesperson added: We are in close dialogue with our supplier of flights, Offshore Helicopter Services Denmark, and other parties, so that we can best keep our employees informed and maximise flights when it is safe. Extra helicopters have been called in from another helicopter supplier so that we can increase the number of flights when the weather permits.

“In addition, we have committed three boats at short notice. The first boat left Esbjerg harbour the night between Saturday and Sunday, and embarked Monday on its second trip offshore. The two remaining boats sailed off Tuesday on their first trip offshore, and all will sail back and forth as needed.”

Strike action closes Scottish airports for second time in a week

Adam Robertson
Thu, 22 December 2022 

Three island airports are closed as a result of industrial action (Image: Jamie Simpson/Newsquest)

THREE island airports are closed for the second time this week as workers take industrial action in a dispute over pay.

Barra, Benbecula, and Sumburgh airports are shut on Thursday after members of the Unite union walked out.

Bosses at Highland and Islands Airports Limited (Hial) said that Stornoway Airport on the Isle of Lewis will open from 1pm to 7.45pm.


Elsewhere, Kirkwall Airport on Orkney will be open from 7.15am to 1pm but only for inter-island flights.

READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon and STUC demand UK Government action on rail strikes

The other Hial airports at Campbeltown, Dundee, Inverness, Islay, Tiree, Wick and John O’Groats are operating as normal.

Thursday’s walk-out comes after workers took strike action on Monday.

The industrial action comes after the union members rejected the 5% pay rise they have been offered, with almost three quarters (73.5%) backing strike action in a ballot.

Inglis Lyon, Hial managing director, previously apologised for the disruption.

He said: “We deeply regret the disruption and inconvenience to our airline partners, passengers, and local communities that this action will cause.

“Against the backdrop of unprecedented financial pressures, we presented an enhanced pay offer to colleagues that maximised the flexibility within the Scottish Government’s pay policy, which Hial is bound by.

“We recognise the challenges colleagues face due to inflationary pressures and the cost-of-living crisis. However, the claim for a rise of at least RPI is unrealistic, and any further offer must be met from cost savings within existing budgets.

“We will continue dialogue with the trade unions in an attempt to avoid further industrial action.”

Unite confirmed that medical and other emergencies will be serviced from all Hial airports on both days.

Schools in many parts of Scotland to close next month due to strikes


Lucy Garcia
Wed, 21 December 2022

Teachers from the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association union (SSTA) on the picket line at Smithycroft Secondary School in Glasgow (Image: Lucinda Cameron)

SCHOOLS in many parts of Scotland have announced they will be closed as teachers walk out on strike next month in a dispute over pay.

The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) and NASUWT members in primary schools will take strike action action on January 10 while those in secondary schools will walk out on January 11, joined by Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA) members.

Teachers have already rejected a deal which would see most staff in classrooms receive a 5% pay rise, although the lowest earning teachers would get a 6.85% increase.

Several councils, including Highland and Aberdeen City Council, have announced that schools in their areas will be shut, while Glasgow City Council said it is “likely” they will be.

A Highland Council spokesperson said: “Following notification of strike action by the Educational Institute of Scotland, the Highland Council has taken the decision to close all primary and early learning and childcare settings on January 10, 2023, and all secondary schools on January 11, 2023, to pupils across Highland on these dates.

“The safe supervision of children and young people is of utmost importance and, given that we anticipate significantly reduced numbers of both management and teaching staffing in schools and early learning and childcare settings, a decision has been made to close all educational establishments to pupils.

READ MORE: Activists 'hopeful' as Scottish Parliament gender debate hits day two

“It is hoped that a clear decision will enable parents and carers to plan ahead for the disruption expected.”

The council said that a letter has been sent to all parents affected.

An Aberdeen City Council spokesperson said: “Given the high level of uncertainty around the number of teaching staff who will be available to teach classes, we have taken the decision to close city primary schools and Orchard Brae School on January 10, and secondary schools on January 11. Schools have written to parents and carers to inform them about arrangements.”

Glasgow City Council has not made a final decision but told parents that it is “likely” that schools will close, including on January 16 when EIS members are due to begin further action.

Ambulance workers walk out in strike-hit UK

Wed, December 21, 2022 

Striking ambulance workers in England and Wales manned picket lines on Wednesday, escalating a pay dispute with the government following walkouts by nurses and other public sector staff.

The series of stoppages are causing misery Britain in the run-up to Christmas, with railway workers and passport control officers set to ruin festive holiday getaways as the government vows to resist the growing pay demands.

As paramedics and call handlers walked out Wednesday, the government and unions furiously traded blame over the possible loss of life.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay, writing in the Daily Telegraph newspaper, accused the unions of making a "conscious decision" to "inflict harm" on patients.

GMB union national secretary, Rachel Harrison, hit back calling his comments "insulting" to ambulance workers, who were "forced" to strike "because year after year the government has failed to listen to them".

Employees across the UK economy are demanding salary rises above decades-high inflation -- currently running at nearly 11 percent -- which is spurring the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation.

On Tuesday, thousands of members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland took to picket lines, five days after their first strike in its 106-year history.

Unions representing both nurses and ambulance workers in the state-run National Health Service (NHS) have threatened further stoppages in the new year if the government keeps refusing to discuss pay.

- 'Immense pressure' -

Around 40 staff formed a picket line outside West Midlands Ambulance Services' hub in Longford in central England, standing behind a banner reading "our NHS is under siege".

As passing ambulances sounded their horns in support, a Unite union representative, Steve Thompson, said the walkout was about trying to retain and improve services, as well as pay.

"This is about telling them (the government) that we are not going to allow it (a deterioration in services) to happen. We are not going to roll over," he said.

"We want the government to actually wake up and realise that this situation is serious."

Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said the UK's emergency health system had been under "immense pressure" for the last three years.

He told Times Radio the last year had been "the worst we've ever seen it" when it came to delays in getting patients into hospital from ambulances due to a lack of beds.

And he said accident and emergency departments were expecting people to make their own way to hospital on Wednesday -- even those with strokes and heart attacks.

- 'Cold shoulder' -

The government insists it must stick to modest increases for public sector workers recommended by independent pay review bodies.

"The best way to help them and help everyone else in the country is for us to get a grip and reduce inflation as quickly as possible," Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said.

But the RCN has criticised the government's stance and accused Barclay of adopting a "macho" negotiating style during recent brief meetings.

It has warned that nurses would take wider industrial action next month if the government "keeps giving our nursing staff the cold shoulder".

Ministers have drafted in 750 military personnel to drive ambulances and perform logistics roles to mitigate the impact of Wednesday's ambulance strike which will affect almost all areas of England and Wales.

Despite the government's insistence that it will not negotiate, polls indicate most people support nurses, and to a lesser extent other workers walking out.

YouGov polling published Tuesday showed two-thirds of Britons support striking nurses, with 63-percent support for ambulance staff.

NHS staff could be offered pay rise in spring as health sec rules out movement on current wages

Thu, 22 December 2022 at


Health Secretary Steve Barclay is considering offering NHS staff a pay rise in spring in a bid to end strikes - but has ruled out any immediate movement on current wages.

The stalemate between unions and the government appeared to show no signs of abating on Thursday morning, following two days of historic action from nurses and paramedics.

NHS leaders have warned they are bracing for a surge in demand for emergency treatment as they urged ministers negotiate on pay to stop further walk-outs next year.

In a tweet on Thursday, Mr Barclay said his door "is always open to talk to trade unions about concerns around working conditions".

But he added: "We have an independent pay review body... and we will continue to defer to that process to ensure decisions balance the needs of staff and the wider economy."

The pay review body (PRB) has recommended pay rises of around £1,400 - about 4% - for most NHS staff, but unions say this is not enough to keep up with soaring inflation.

The government says it can't afford to make a new offer, but has not ruled out a new deal early next year.

Health workers typically receive a backdated wage increase in the summer, even though recommendations are made by the independent Pay Review Body in April.

The Telegraph has reported that Steve Barclay, the health secretary, wants next year's PRB process to be sped up so any extra money can be added to pay packets at the "earliest opportunity".

While this does not mean a new or "fast-tracked" pay offer, a source close to the cabinet minister told Sky News political correspondent Ali Fortescue that he is "keen to get moving" with the process and doesn't want it to be "bogged down" as it has been in the past.

The process of setting pay recommendations for next year is already under way and there is an "opportunity in spring to assess if pay rises are affordable", the source said.

But Unison's head of health Sara Gorton said: "Before embarking on the 2023 pay round, ministers need to accept they've not raised wages sufficiently to stop key staff from leaving the service this year.

"The pay review body process is no longer delivering for NHS staff or the government. Direct talks with ministers to solve wage issues are the way forward."

Unions - which have been calling for inflation-busting pay rises - have said they expect NHS workers to be offered a 2% increase next year, based on a letter sent by Mr Barclay to the PRB last month.

It comes after historic strike action saw thousands of nurses picket on Tuesday and ambulance staff stage their biggest strike in 30 years yesterday.

Health chiefs have stepped up calls for the government to negotiate with unions on pay as they brace for a challenging winter.

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, told Sky News that the health service "coped as well as could be expected" during the strikes due to planning and the public making "less use of 999".

But he warned that the NHS "can't afford to drift into further industrial action across the winter" as he urged the government and trade unions to come to an agreement.

NHS 'paying price' for austerity

He said the NHS is "paying the price" for 10 years of austerity, the COVID backlog and not addressing workforce issues - as vacancies reach 130,000.

Mr Taylor said: "This winter is going to be incredibly tough, there's nothing we can do about that. But the industrial action adds to what is already a challenging situation, which is why, on behalf of leaders in the NHS, I repeat the call to the government to re-enter negotiations in good faith with the trade unions and to try to find a way of avoiding further industrial action across the winter."

Ministers have continually insisted pay negotiations are not up to them as the independent pay review bodies recommend what salary increases should be, and the government has accepted that.

The pay review bodies are made up of experts in their field without political affiliations who take evidence from a range of sources, including trade unions and staff.

Read more:
Strikes every day before Christmas - which sectors are affected and why

How A&E and other NHS services will be impacted

But last week, the GMB union - which represents tens of thousands of health workers - announced it was pulling out of the process used by the government to set NHS pay, as it questioned the independence of the PRB.

Some Tory MPs have also called on ministers to ask NHS pay reviewers to reconsider their recommendations as a way to end the strikes by offering higher rises.

The government has insisted higher pay offers are not affordable and the money would have to be taken out of frontline services.

There was no sign of the stalemate ending last night, as Unite general secretary Sharon Graham accused Mr Barclay of a "blatant lie" for saying ambulance unions had taken a "conscious decision" to inflict harm on patients.

Further ambulance strikes are planned next week, with unions threatening more action next year unless there are moves on pay talks.

Workers across several other industries are also set to strike in the build-up to Christmas.

Warning of knock-on effect after health workers' strikes - plus the walkouts planned today

Wed, 21 December 2022 


Two days of strikes by nurses and paramedics will have a knock-on effect on appointments with a return to "very high numbers" of emergency calls in the coming days, NHS Providers has warned.

Historic strike action saw thousands of nurses picket on Tuesday and ambulance staff stage their biggest strike in 30 years yesterday.

Saffron Cordery, interim chief executive of NHS Providers, told Sky News that the next few days would be a "challenging time".

The NHS is 'haemorrhaging staff'

Talking about structural issues impacting the NHS, she said: "Staff on the frontline are significantly overstretched and we need to see a real growth in the number of staff across the whole of the NHS.

"What we've got to see now is the government come to the table and have a serious discussion and negotiation about pay because this dispute is about pay and it's also about working conditions and keeping patients safe."

Highlighting the record high of NHS vacancies, with around 130,000 posts unfilled, she said: "We know that we are haemorrhaging staff because of pay and working conditions, particularly in more junior bands of NHS staff. So, we really have to do something about that.

"And it's not just about the NHS. The government knows we need to do something about social care as well because social care is really on its knees and it needs a boost. And if if social care has a boost and the NHS frontline staff have the terms and conditions they need, then we will see an effective NHS."

'Severe effects on patient wellbeing'

The chief executive of the NHS Confederation, Matthew Taylor, told Sky News that lack of investment in the NHS was now coming to the fore: "We know we had the 10 years of austerity. It meant we went into COVID with a hundred thousand vacancies, with a crumbling estate.

"So, what we've got now is a big gap between demand and capacity."

He repeated calls to the government and trade unions to re-enter negotiations and to try to find a way of avoiding further strikes across the winter, saying: "We can't afford to drift into further industrial action."

While he said he understood both the concerns of the trade unions over pay, and the challenges facing the government over public spending, he warned: "We need leadership. We need imagination, because the health service cannot deal with a winter of industrial action without there being severe effects on patient wellbeing."

'Call 999 if you need to'

Appealing directly to anyone needing to use the NHS over the coming days, he said: "Primary care has not been affected by the industrial action... If you have concerns about your health, contact your GP. If you have an emergency, contact 999. If you're not sure, ring 111. The services are there and do use them."

The number of people calling 999 appeared to drop in some parts of England yesterday, and NHS Providers - the membership organisation for NHS hospital, mental health, community and ambulance services - said there had been "varying levels of disruption" across the country.

It said some demand had shifted to other services or not materialised as expected.

But the organisation said demand for care across the whole healthcare system remained high and trust leaders were reporting ongoing delays to ambulance services and overcrowding at some accident and emergency departments.

Nurses, ambulance staff, railway and postal workers have now returned to work, however, there are more strikes taking place today - with highway workers and driving test examiners among those downing tools.

The military steps in

NHS England said at least 11,509 staff were absent from work across England during strikes by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) on Tuesday and 13,797 appointments and procedures had to be rescheduled.

Members of the military stepped in to take the place of ambulance workers yesterday, with trusts telling patients to only call 999 in the case of a life-threatening injury.

The next ambulance strike is due to take place on 28 December.

Read more:
Strikes every day before Christmas - which sectors are affected and why

Government could fast-track NHS pay rise

Meanwhile, reports said the government could fast-track an NHS pay rise next year.

The Daily Telegraph reported that Health Secretary Steve Barclay is poised to offer an expedited pay deal after unions and ministers remained mired in a stalemate over pay conditions.

The paper said a source close to Mr Barclay, who has been criticised by unions for suggesting striking health workers had "made a conscious choice to inflict harm on patients", revealed he is keen to "speed up the process" of giving NHS staff a pay rise early next year.

Unions have said they expect NHS workers to be offered a 2% increase next year based on a letter Mr Barclay sent last month to the NHS Pay Review Body.

Wales strike action 'upsetting to all'

Doctors in Wales are considering taking strike action for the first time, the British Medical Association Cymru has said.

Almost two-thirds of hospital doctors surveyed by the union said they would be willing to take some form of industrial action over pay and conditions.

Iona Collins, the BMA's Welsh Council chairwoman, called the survey "upsetting to all" and said it is "gut-wrenching for doctors to consider walking away from work".

She added: "Without action now, patients will continue to suffer as a direct consequence of an under-funded NHS with insufficient direct clinical care."

In October, the BMA announced that a ballot for industrial action by junior doctors in England will open on 9 January.

Just under 1,000 doctors in Wales responded to the survey seeking views on a 4.5% pay award from the Welsh government - with 78% of those who answered saying they want a pay rise matching or exceeding inflation.

Dr Collins said: "Doctors have been quietly quitting the NHS for years, by reducing their contracted hours or leaving altogether. The financial incentive to remain in the NHS has eroded over the last decade."

Who's striking today?

National Highways workers will begin a walkout in London and the south east of England, which will last until Christmas Day.

This will affect officers who work in the aftermath of accidents as well as call centre staff. National Highways have said no roads will be closed as a result of the strike.

Workers for the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) in the north west of England, Yorkshire and Humber and North Wales will stop work.

Driving test examiners will also be striking, affecting driving test centres in north west England and Yorkshire and the Humber. Theory tests will not be affected.

Rural Payments Agency (RPA) staff will continue their walkout and Unison workers at the Environment Agency will refuse to provide on-call cover for unexpected incidents.

Unite members working for Highlands and Islands Airports will also be striking.

DEC 20/21 COVERAGE

UK Strikes latest: National highways workers to stage industrial action as travellers brace for inconvenience (yahoo.com)

Ambulance strike – live: Fears of A&E ‘rebound’ in days after drivers walk out (yahoo.com)

Suez Canal chief seeks to dispel fears over draft Egypt law

Thu, December 22, 2022 


The chairman of Egypt's Suez Canal on Thursday affirmed the waterway is "not for sale", in a bid to allay fears over a draft law under discussion in parliament.

On Tuesday the legislature approved in principle a bill proposed by the government seeking to establish a sovereign wealth fund "that can carry out all economic and investment activities" for the Suez Canal Authority.

The draft bill has sparked wide debate on social media. Many fear the fund would undermine the state's sovereignty over the waterway which accounts for roughly 10 percent of global maritime trade and is a vital source of foreign currency for economically-battered Egypt.

Suez Canal Authority chairman Osama Rabie said in a news conference on Thursday that the canal cannot be "sold, leased or borrowed for collateral".

He added the purpose of the fund is to invest in mega-projects.

The proposed bill comes with Egypt's economy struggling under growing foreign debt, and the local currency plunging against the dollar.

In October the government said Egypt had clinched a $3 billion loan deal with the International Monetary Fund conditioned on a currency depreciation and state subsidy cuts.

Economist Hani Tawfiq suggested in a Facebook post that the purpose of the proposed sovereign fund would likely be to "exchange state debt for bonds issued by the fund (and) guaranteed by Suez Canal revenues".

Rabie nonetheless denied this in his press conference. He said the purpose of the fund was to draw foreign investment.

But the bill has already provoked widespread anger among Egyptians on social media, where it was among the top trending topics all week.

Former Suez Canal chairman Mohab Mamish said the new law would be "impossible to implement and opens the door to unprecedented changes... that allow for the presence of foreigners in the Suez Canal's management".

The foreign investors could "change the system upon which the canal's management has been based for years and which has returned record profits", Mamish said in remarks published by local media.

Sending Rescue Ship to ISS to Replace Damaged Soyuz May Take About One Month, Source Says

18.12.2022

© AP Photo

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian space agency Roscosmos may need about a month to dispatch a Soyuz rescue spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) to replace the damaged Soyuz MS-22, but a decision has not yet been made on the matter, an informed source told Sputnik on Sunday.

On Saturday, Roscosmos said that the preparations for the launch of the next Soyuz manned spacecraft to the ISS could be sped up after a fault was detected in the Soyuz MS-22 cooling system.

"No decision has been made yet regarding the acceleration of preparations to send Soyuz MS-23 to the ISS in connection with the accident at Soyuz MS-22. If such a decision is made, the timeframe for the preparation of the spaceship could be reduced to one month," the source said.

At the moment, there are two spacecraft at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Soyuz MS-23 and Soyuz MS-24, the source clarified.

In the meantime, Roscosmos specialists managed to lower the temperature aboard the spacecraft.

"The temperature aboard the manned Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft has been going down thanks to specialists of the Flight Control Center located near Moscow. It is within the required range," Roscosmos said in a statement.

The leak will be inspected using cameras on the Special Multipurpose Dexterous Manipulator, a robotic hand installed on the US space station module, the Russian space agency said.

A leak from the cooling system of Soyuz MS-22 occurred on Thursday due to damage to the spacecraft's outer skin. The cosmonauts reported to ground control that the diagnostic system of Soyuz had been triggered, and also confirmed that they were visually observing the leak.

Due to the incident, the spacewalk of Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin had to be canceled. The NASA broadcast showed how fountains of technical liquid were being shot from the Soyuz.

The Russian Skif-D satellite, the first orbital spacecraft from the Sfera (Sphere) multi-satellite orbital constellation, was launched from the Vostochny cosmodrome on October 22, using the Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket.

© Sputnik / Ramil Sitdikov

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Go to the mediabank

Roscosmos Human Space Flight Programs Executive Director Sergei Krikalev said that a micrometeorite hit may have caused damage to the spacecraft's outer skin and depressurization of the cooling system. No other changes were found in the telemetry of the spacecraft and the station, he added.

Following the incident, the spacecraft began to warm up, with its temperature reaching 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) at one point. On Saturday, Roscosmos reported that the temperature in Soyuz MS-22 was not exceeding 30 degrees Celsius and there was no threat to the crew's health.

Right-wing Israeli government sparks fear of Palestinian escalation

Veteran leader Benjamin Netanyahu formed a new Israeli government on December 21, the most right-wing coalition in Israel's history -

by Guillaume Lavallee
December 22, 2022 — Jerusalem (AFP)

Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu has formed a coalition government but concerns are growing at what power he will exercise over his far-right allies, as violence surges in the occupied West Bank.

The incoming government, which veteran hawk Netanyahu announced he had formed late Wednesday, is expected to be the most right-wing in Israel's history.

It has sparked fears of military escalation in the West Bank amid the worst violence in the Palestinian territory for nearly 20 years.

Netanyahu's Likud party secured the mandate to form a government in the November 1 election, with backing from ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties and Religious Zionism, an extreme-right alliance of minor parties.


Leading voices within the new coalition will include Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, two leaders of the Religious Zionism bloc who occupy the extremity of Israel's political right.

Both live in Israeli settlements inside the West Bank, and will respectively take charge of settlement policy and national security.

At least three senior Western diplomats have told AFP they are concerned about the security impact of Ben Gvir's role within the government.

- 'Escalation' -


Ben Gvir's post as national security minister will include responsibility for Israel's police, which includes the border guard who, along with the Israeli army, operate inside the West Bank.

In recent weeks Israel's press has highlighted the risk of having "two" separate armies in the West Bank, with the army on one side and the border guard on the other.

But former Israeli general Amir Avivi, who now runs a network for former security officials, believes the command structure of Israel's forces will not be threatened.

"I don't see any scenario in which Ben Gvir will lead border guard operations" in the West Bank, he said.

However, Palestinian analyst Khaldoun Barghouti said the question was not about the structure of Israel's security forces -- but rather Israel's policies on settlements and annexations of Palestinian territories in the West Bank.

"This Israeli government will lead to an escalation, because the position of Ben Gvir and Smotrich will destroy the possibility of a Palestinian state," he said.

At least 150 Palestinians and 26 Israelis have been killed this year across Israel and the West Bank, including Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.

A further 49 Palestinians were killed during three days of fighting between Gaza militants and Israel in August.

According to United Nations data, 2022 has been the deadliest year since the 2002-2005 Palestinian uprising, known as the Second Intifada.

- 'Third intifada' fear -

More than 475,000 Israeli settlers live in the occupied West Bank, and the UN warns their presence threatens the viability of a two-state solution to the decades-long conflict.

Smotrich has already signposted an intention to legalise a number of "wildcat" settlements that are not currently recognised by Israel.

Washington, Israel's foremost ally, said it will "unequivocally oppose" moves to expand settlements, annex areas of the West Bank or disrupt the status quo of holy sites, Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned.

A point of frequent tension in annexed east Jerusalem is the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, Islam's third holiest site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest place.

Under a historical status quo, non-Muslims can visit the sanctuary but not pray there.

"If Ben Gvir manages to convince Netanyahu, or orders the police to change the behaviour of Israeli citizens on the Temple Mount, it will lead to a third intifada," outgoing public security minister Omer Bar-Lev recently warned.

In May 2021, tensions in Jerusalem, and particularly at the Al-Aqsa compound, boiled over.

Hamas, the Islamist movement which controls the coastal Gaza Strip, launched salvoes of rockets from the enclave toward Israel, resulting in a deadly 11-day war.

The group has described as "provocations" several visits by Ben Gvir to the compound during the past year.

"I don't see Ben Gvir doing something (about the Al-Aqsa compound) without the approval of Netanyahu and the security cabinet," said Amos Yadlin, Israel's former military intelligence chief.

This is particularly true as the change of the status quo at the Al-Aqsa compound or further flare-ups risk regional repercussions, at a time when Israel is hoping to build formal ties with Saudi Arabia, as it did with the UAE and Bahrain under the 2020 Abraham Accords.

According to Yadlin, the only factors that could impact the normalisation deals are tensions at Al-Aqsa and "clashes -- by which I mean bloodshed".

Reactions to Netanyahu's new coalition government

 

After weeks of negotiations, Benjamin Netanyahu is poised to head a new coalition government seen as the most right-wing in Israel's history. Among the most controversial deals he reached is the appointment of Jewish ultranationalist Itamar Ben-Gvir as security minister in charge of the national police force. FRANCE 24's Yuka Royer gives us some reactions