In blow to Native Americans, US court approves land swap for Rio's Arizona copper mine

Ernest Scheyder
Updated Fri, March 1, 2024



By Ernest Scheyder

(Reuters) -A U.S. appeals court on Friday narrowly ruled that the federal government may give away thousands of acres in Arizona to Rio Tinto for a copper mine, upholding a previous ruling and rejecting an argument from Native Americans that the land should be preserved for its religious and cultural value.

The 6-5 ruling from the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals essentially defers to a 2014 decision made by the U.S. Congress and then-President Barack Obama to give the land to Rio and minority partner BHP for the Resolution Copper project.

The decision comes amid the U.S. presidential election season, in which former President Donald Trump, who supports the mine, is likely to face off against President Joe Biden, who narrowly won Arizona in the 2020 election thanks to Native American votes.

The move is the latest blow to the Apache Stronghold, a nonprofit group comprised of the San Carlos Apache tribe and others who have long opposed the mine, which would destroy a site where Indigenous ceremonies have been held for generations but would, if developed, supply more than a quarter of U.S. copper demand for the renewable energy transition.

Three members of the Appeals Court had ruled for Rio and the land swap in 2022. All 11 members of the appeals court then said they would decide the case in what is known as an en banc hearing, held last March.

"This ruling is illogical and it's unjust," said Luke Goodrich, a Becket Law attorney who represents Apache Stronghold. The group intends to appeal to the Supreme Court and feels it has a strong case given how closely divided the appeals court was, Goodrich added.

The dispute centers on a federally owned land parcel in eastern Arizona known as Oak Flat, which some Apache consider home to deities and which sits atop a reserve of more than 40 billion pounds of copper, a crucial component of electric vehicles. If a mine is built, it would create a crater 2 miles (3 km) wide and 1,000 feet (304 m) deep that would destroy that worship site.

RELIGIOUS TENSION

In their 253-page ruling, the judges spared over whether a land transfer by the government could prevent some from exercising their religious beliefs.

The majority ruled that the land transfer would not be a "substantial burden" on the San Carlos Apache's religious rights because it would not reflect the government forcing the tribe to stop worshiping their deities.

The five dissenters argued that it would be impossible for the Apache to practice their religion if the place where they worship is destroyed.

The 2014 law that approved the land swap required an environmental report to be published in order for the land swap occurred, which Trump did shortly before leaving office. Biden unpublished that report in March 2021, though he was not able to permanently block the mine.

Meanwhile, Apache Stronghold sued to prevent the land transfer. It has now lost in three consecutive court hearings.

For the land transfer to occur, Biden would need to republish that environmental report. The White House was not immediately available to comment.

Vicky Peacey, who runs the Resolution project for Rio, said the company welcomed the decision and would continue to talk with tribes "as we seek to understand and address the concerns that have been raised."

Representatives for the San Carlos Apache, Apache Stronghold and BHP did not immediately return requests for comment.

The six judges in the majority were appointed by Republican presidents, including five appointed by Trump. Four of the five dissenting judges were appointed by Democratic presidents.

(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; additional reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Nandita Bose; editing by Leslie Adler and Aurora Ellis)

Lobster catch dips to lowest level since 2009 as fishers grapple with climate change, whale rules

PATRICK WHITTLE
Updated Fri, March 1, 2024 

Max Oliver moves a lobster to the banding table aboard his boat while fishing off Spruce Head, Maine, on Aug. 31, 2021. America's lobster fishing business dipped in catch while grappling with challenges including a changing ocean environment and new rules designed to protect rare whales. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — America's lobster fishing business dipped in catch while grappling with challenges including a changing ocean environment and new rules designed to protect rare whales.

The lobster industry, based mostly in Maine, has had an unprecedented decade in terms of the volume and value of the lobsters brought to the docks. But members of the industry have also said they face existential threats from proposed rules intended to protect the North Atlantic right whale and climate change that is influencing where lobsters can be trapped.

Maine fishermen's catch in 2023 fell more than 5% from the year that preceded it, and the total of 93.7 million pounds of lobsters caught was the lowest figure since 2009, according to data released Friday by the Maine Department of Marine Resources. The figure tracks with the up-and-down year lobster fishermen experienced, said Dave Cousens a fishermen based out of Criehaven island and a former president of the Maine Lobstermen's Association.

The price of bait and fuel eased somewhat, but the volume of catch didn't seem to match other recent years, Cousens said. The Maine lobster haul has fallen from a high of 132.6 million pounds in 2016, though the 2023 year's figure was still much more than fishermen produced in most of the 2000s. The 2023 haul was also the second year in a row the total catch declined.

Fishermen who participate in Maine's lifeblood lobster industry are on edge about what the future holds, as lobsters have inched steadily northward as waters have warmed, Cousens said.

“We've gone down steadily from 132 million. We're going back downhill,” Cousens said. “There's no question climate change is affecting it.”

Fishermen from Massachusetts, Rhode Island and other Northeast states also harvest lobsters with traps from the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean, but about 80% of the catch comes to the docks in Maine in a typical year.

The price of lobsters at the docks has ebbed and flowed in recent years, but it has stayed fairly consistent to consumers. The price at the docks spiked to more than $6.70 per pound in 2021 and fell to less than $4 per pound in 2022. Last year, it was a little less than $5 per pound, and the total catch was worth more than $460 million at the docks, according to data released Friday. That is the third highest figure of the last four years.

“The price Maine lobstermen received last year is a reflection of the continued strong demand for this iconic seafood,” said Maine marine resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher.

The state's fishermen have been in a lengthy legal battle with the federal government over rules designed to protect the whales, which are vulnerable to entanglement in fishing gear. The fishermen argue the proposed rules are so strict they could put them out of business, but conservationists say they are essential to save the whales, which number less than 360 in the world. A right whale found dead off Massachusetts this winter showed signs of entanglement in Maine gear.

The ways in which climate change is affecting the industry are a subject of ongoing scientific study. The southern New England lobster industry has collapsed as the ocean has warmed, and the waters off Maine logged the second-warmest year on record in 2022.

Lobster tagged in New Brunswick caught over 250 kilometres away in Maine

CBC
Sat, March 2, 2024 

A lobster with the same type of tag attached to a lobster that was caught in the Gulf of Maine. The crustacean, part of a study by researchers at the University of New Brunswick, travelled from St. Martins, N.B. (Emily Blacklock - image credit)


Emily Blacklock was scrolling through social media when she spotted a video of a Maine fisherman hauling in an unexpected catch — a lobster with a tag from her research team found hundreds of kilometres away from where it was attached in New Brunswick.

"All of a sudden I saw one of our blue tags, so I ended up messaging him," she said.

"We all know it's possible that lobsters go from the Bay of Fundy to the Gulf of Maine, but the chance of him being the one to catch that lobster and make a video was fantastic."

Blacklock, a PhD candidate at the University of New Brunswick, is part of a team of researchers trying to find a way to identify the age of lobsters.

There is currently no way to tell exactly how old the crustaceans are, as their shells molt and are regrown. They don't show typical signs of aging like other species, so age estimates are normally based on size.

The study, led by UNB professor Rémy Rochette, has been taking tissue samples from small tagged lobsters since it started tagging them in spring 2022.

Blacklock and another PhD student in the lab have tagged about 2,250 from lobster fishing area 36 on the New Brunswick side of the Bay of Fundy. The zone spans from St. Martins to Deer Island.


Emily Blacklock, a PhD candidate at the University of New Brunswick, holds a lobster tagged as part of a study trying to determine their age.
 (Emily Blacklock)

The tags attached to the lobsters are tiny pieces of plastic with a unique identification number and a phone number.

As fishermen call them in, Blacklock said her team takes additional samples so they can compare the tissue changes.

"The lobster is actually able to age with the tag, so if they molt the tag stays with the lobster. So it can be there as long as it takes until that lobster is caught again," she said.

All of the 82 lobsters called in so far have been in the Bay of Fundy, until the discovery in Maine.

Jacob Knowles, a fifth-generation lobster fisherman and a social media influencer, posted the footage of the catch in early January. He shared it with his audience of more than three million followers on TikTok, initially thinking it might be a "lottery lobster" tracked by the state of Maine.

In the video, he tosses it back in the ocean after writing down the phone number. It got more than two million views.


The UNB researchers have tagged about 2,250 so far, through lobster fishing area 36 on the New Brunswick side of the Bay of Fundy. The zone spans from Saint Martins to Deer Island.
 (Emily Blacklock)

Blacklock saw it the next day and messaged Knowles to explain it was likely part of her study.

They eventually got in touch last week and she was able to explain how far the lobster had travelled – which Knowles shared with his audience in two update videos.

The lobster found in the Gulf of Maine, off the coast of Bar Harbor, had been tagged in Saint Martins, N.B. on Nov. 29, 2022, and had been in the water for 421 days.

"If we drew a straight line between those two locations, it would have been 256 kilometres," Blacklock said.

"It's probably much farther than that distance because we don't know the exact path it took to get there."

Blacklock said there are studies that have shown lobsters have the ability to travel long distances. But she said the chance of someone catching it and calling it in from that far away was "pretty fantastic."

The lobsters have been called in across the entire Bay of Fundy, from Digby, N.S., to Campobello Island.


The lobster is able to age and molt its shell without losing the tag. They each have a unique identification number and a phone number to contact.
(Emily Blacklock)

If someone catches a lobster with a tag, the researchers are asking them to call or text the phone number written on it. If it's in area 36, they'll buy it back.

For any lobsters outside of the zone, while the team can't buy it, they're asking for a picture of the crustacean with a gauge next to it for a measurement. The researchers would also like the co-ordinates to inform a separate study about how lobsters travel.

The lobster Knowles found was released, but he was able to share the exact co-ordinates, date and time where it was caught. Because of the tag in the picture, the researchers were able to estimate the size of the lobster.

The team is now making maps to see where the lobsters have gone, but the study is still in early stages. Once there are enough tissue samples, which could happen at the end of this spring fishing season, they'll be sent off for lab testing




Steam Lobster Tails In Beer For Elevated Flavor

Wendy Leigh
Fri, March 1, 2024 


Steamed lobster tail on plate - Bartosz Luczak/Getty Images


Cooking with booze is nothing new, with countless recipes utilizing wine, bourbon, beer, and everything in between. Seafood gets its fair share of alcohol infusions, including beer-battered fish tacos, drunken shrimp (which uses absinthe), and poached branzino with beurre blanc (which uses white wine). While many home chefs treat lobster with kid gloves, often due to limited experience and high costs, there's no reason to avoid cooking lobster in your favorite booze. That's especially true if it's beer.

Steaming lobster tails in beer adds moisture to the meat while also elevating the flavor with malty, earthy notes. It's one of the easiest ways to transform plain lobster tails into a delicious ready-to-eat gourmet meal. You'll avoid the guessing game of choosing spices, rubs, and marinades, as well as deciding how much is too much or too little. The inherent flavors you already love in your favorite lager, ale, or pilsner will be what permeates those sea creatures -- even better if you complement your meal with the same cold brew.

Aside from the rich flavor infusion and moist texture, steaming lobster tails bypasses the fear of overbaking in a hot oven or over-charring on an outside grill. Lobster tails from a grocery store or fish market are typically sold raw or frozen. Steaming defrosted tails gets the entire job done in about 15 minutes with little effort on your part.

Read more: 15 Different Ways To Cook Fish
Steaming And Pairing Beer With Lobster

Cooked lobster tail split open - Lauripatterson/Getty Images

Prep time for making two beer-steamed lobster tails is typically five minutes or less, including bringing the beer to a boil in a stovetop pot. It only takes about two inches of beer in the bottom of the pan to create the stream, without it splashing onto the lobster. Place a stainless-steel steamer basket over the bubbling brew, lay the tails across the basket, reduce the heat, and cover. You can use either un-shelled lobster pieces or shell-on lobster tails, preferably slit lengthwise for easy access when eating. The cut only needs to go through the exposed outer shell, not through the meat itself.

That's pretty much it; just let the tails steam for about 10 minutes, more or less depending on size. Check sooner if you've removed the lobster meat from its shell before steaming. Feel free to add butter or flavoring to the beer, such as a bay leaf or garlic clove. To keep lobster tails from over-curling while they steam, slide a skewer through each tail.

Any type of beer works for steaming, but it helps to use ones that pair well with lobster, generally those with a mild to medium taste. Light, fruity cream ales are a good choice, as are peppery Belgian tripels, citrusy pale ales, and single IPAs or wheat beers. As with any food and alcohol pairing, the best type of beer for steaming lobsters will ultimately be the one you enjoy.

US Steel takeover’s fate may hang on the words of a union boss

Bloomberg News | March 2, 2024 | 

David McCall, president of United Steelworkers. (Image by USW.)

David McCall has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to do right by America’s industrial workers, and he’s ready to seize the moment.


As head of the United Steelworkers, McCall finds himself in an unlikely place of power. Labor groups traditionally haven’t had much sway in US corporate takeovers. But 2024 is, of course, no ordinary year. So thanks to a growing political maelstrom that’s thrust the steelworker into the center of campaign rhetoric, McCall is now one of the most crucial voices that can help decide the fate of Nippon Steel Corp.’s proposed $14 billion takeover of the storied United States Steel Corp.

And McCall is preparing for a fight.

“The transaction itself right now, as announced, there’s no way I’d accept it,” he said in a recent interview, indicating that he’s ready to go the brink – even if it means killing the deal – to make sure he can secure the concessions he’s seeking for his union members.

The union doesn’t have any official right to simply block an offer US Steel has accepted. What it does have is political leverage.

The influence of the United Steelworkers (USW) has grown stronger now than in any time in recent memory. Joe Biden has billed himself the most pro-union president in history, but Donald Trump has sought to undercut his labor support, appealing to rank-and-file auto workers and union members who have resented this administration’s clean energy agenda along with other policies. Union voters are seen as one of the key deciding blocs in the November presidential election.

The Nippon bid for US Steel is up for review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, a process shrouded in secrecy. Allies of Biden have urged the administration to kill the deal over national security concerns — despite Japan being a close ally — and the threat to unionized steel jobs.

In the end, the final decision could come down to a signal to the White House about whether or not the union likes the deal. The USW has received “personal assurances” that Biden has “our backs,” according to a February statement.

That unique position underscores why interviews with more than two dozen investors, legal experts, steel consumers, brokers, service centers, analysts and executives paint the picture of an industry that is hanging on the words of one man: McCall.

Ultimately, the union holds the “political leverage,” Phil Gibbs, a nearly 20-year veteran covering the steel industry at Keybanc Capital Markets, said in an interview. “They clearly can make noise and if they saber rattle, they get in Biden’s ear or Donald Trump’s ear, or they stage a walk out — who knows what they’ll do.”

McCall’s moment comes as labor groups in the US are getting re-energized. Last fall, the United Auto Workers led a six-week strike that resulted in massive wage increases. That capped off a summer of strikes that saw Hollywood writers and actors walk off their jobs, and meanwhile workers at companies as varied as Starbucks Corp. and Apple Inc. have moved to unionize in recent years.

Even then, it’s hard to overstate just how rare it is for a union to hold this much power during a deal review.

“I can’t recall a situation where unions in particular have been sort of the voice looking to encourage CFIUS to block a deal,” said Rick Sofield, a partner at Debevoise & Plimpton who spent nearly 25 years as a federal government lawyer including helping to oversee national security reviews by CFIUS.
Upcoming meetings

A lot could come down to the next immediate period.

McCall and his top aides at the USW are expected to meet with representatives from Nippon Steel including Executive Vice President Takahiro Mori in the coming days, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the information is private.

McCall says that for any discussions with Nippon the most-important points for the union will be: discussing the labor agreement, pension plans, retiree healthcare, capital expenditures and profit sharing.

For its part, Nippon has been telling investors it’s willing to make major concessions that are of importance to the union, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the information is private. The concessions cited include making investments at US Steel plants, the people said.

Nippon said it “is focused on developing a productive working relationship with the USW and its members,” according to an emailed statement. The company “has assured the USW that it has the financial wherewithal to continue honoring all agreements currently in place between the USW and US Steel. We are confident that this transaction is in the best interest of the USW and its members.”

Just in the past week, McCall and Nippon confirmed that the two sides had signed a non-disclosure agreement, allowing talks to progress even as the union publicly maintains its opposition to the deal. Investors took that as a vote of confidence. US Steel shares quickly erased losses on the news and climbed as much as 1.4%.

The optimism may be overdone.

For those who are saying that the NDA is a sign of progress in the dealings between Nippon and the union, McCall has strong words: “I would say to you, emphatically, it is a lie.”

“We’ve gone back and forth and back and forth on an NDA, and that’s all we talked about,” McCall said by phone.

McCall’s tone in conversations with Bloomberg over the last two-and-a-half months since the deal was made public has, if anything, grown more hardened.

Less than half an hour after the takeover was first announced in December, McCall told Bloomberg News in a phone call that he was wary of the transaction. The union’s preferred bidder, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., had lost out, and the winning company wasn’t one many in the market had expected.

“This is not how this is going to work,” he said at the time. “We don’t know Nippon.”

By the end of that week, McCall got sharper. He called out US Steel for a “pompous” attitude, criticizing the company for not giving the union advance notice of the deal. And shortly before New Year’s, he chastised Nippon for having sent a representative to his office to simply read from a pre-written script of how the company would honor labor agreements.

By January, he was on the full offensive. Across a wide-ranging 90-minute conversation on the fifth floor of the USW office in Washington, McCall claimed Nippon had no understanding of the full commitments needed by the labor group and said the company had handled everything “arrogantly.”

By late February, he was livid.

“I want to kill this deal,” McCall said in a phone interview. “They haven’t indicated in any way that they’re interested in working with us to assure us that our members and our members’ futures, their employment security, their economic security and their retirement security is guaranteed. The only progress is on an NDA.”

And when pressed on whether he’d still want to kill the deal even if Nippon meets all the union’s demands, McCall first takes a long pause before answering: “It’s a question I can’t answer, unless they’re willing to sit down and talk about the issues.”

Still, at this point, fiery rhetoric works in McCall’s favor. The angrier he seems, the more leverage he has when it comes to sitting down for negotiations. It’s in Nippon’s interest to try to win the union’s favor quickly.
Trump wants to block

Trump has already said that he would block Nippon’s takeover of US Steel “instantaneously.” “We saved the steel industry. Now, US Steel is being bought by Japan. So terrible, but yeah, we want to bring jobs back to the country,” Trump said in late January.

Members of Congress in both parties have also raised national security concerns, including because of the Japanese steelmaker’s exposure to China.

And in response to questions about the deal, top economic aides for Biden said the president aims to preserve union jobs and domestic manufacturing in the US steel sector. The comments publicly hint at the administration’s priorities and the potential scope of the CFIUS review and further highlight why winning over the union will help to smooth over the political process for Nippon.

In recent weeks, people familiar with the matter have said the US national security review of the takeover is unlikely to conclude until late this year. US Steel and Nippon have publicly stated that they still expect the deal to close by the second or third quarter.

The CFIUS panel, led by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, can approve, amend or block the deal on national security grounds — or send it to Biden’s desk for a decision.

The Treasury Department declined to comment.

In a statement, US Steel said: “We respect and appreciate the professionalism of the CFIUS process and the important work of the Committee. We are committed to working with the appropriate parties to ensure any national security concerns are addressed.”

The company also cited Japan as an “important ally” of the US.
Right-Hand Man

McCall became the union’s top official in September, following the death of former president Tom Conway.

McCall was Conway’s right-hand man, who would lay the advance ground work with company officials before top executives and union bosses would gather. Insiders have long viewed McCall as the shrewd negotiator who did the work to secure critical benefits and wage increases.

It’s unclear whether McCall will really follow through on his threats to try and kill the deal. Nippon has, after all, signalled to investors that it will do what’s needed to get the CFIUS approval.

And though the current political moment means McCall currently has a great amount of leverage, that clout will most likely fade after the November election. While US union strength has grown, it’s also true that even the most iconic labor groups, like the USW and the UAW, have seen their ranks plummet from the heydays half a century ago.

So scuttling the deal, only to leave the fate of the workers to the next bidder for US Steel during a less politically ripe moment, may not be the best strategy.

“There is sort of the middle-of-the-road outcome between letting the deal go untouched and blocking it — and that is mitigation to the extent that keeping these strategically important manufacturing jobs in the US is a national security interest,” Sofield of Debevoise & Plimpton said of what could happen during the CFIUS review. “You don’t have to block the deal to make that happen.”

But there is also a personal element to all this that goes beyond the politics.

McCall got his start in the industry at Bethlehem Steel in 1970 at the age of 18 as a journeyman millright. In 1978, he met Conway, at the time a young, unknown Protestant steelworker — an irony to McCall, who’s a Catholic.

Days after Conway’s death, just as McCall was starting to take up the responsibilities of running the union, he had a call with US Steel Chief Executive Officer David Burritt that would set the tone for the relationship he’s had with the company, and now by proxy, with Nippon.

“He said: ‘I hope our relationship can be better than it was with Tom. I didn’t get along with Tom, but I respected his mission,” McCall said. “My best friend in the world passed away and all he could say was he respected his mission.”

(Reporting by Joe Deaux).

SAQ union members vote for 15-day strike mandate

Negotiations with the employer have stalled for a year, union says

CBC News · Posted: Mar 02, 2024 

Full-time positions and work schedules are the main sticking points, the union said. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)

Social Shari

• Faceboo
• X
• Email
• Reddit
• LinkedIn

Unionized office and store employees of Quebec's liquor board, the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ), have voted for a 15-day strike mandate.

In a news release Saturday morning, the union said that 89 per cent of employees affected voted in favour of the 15-day strike mandate. But it did not specify how many people voted at general meetings held throughout the week.

The union, which represents 5,000 employees in SAQ stores and offices throughout Quebec and is affiliated with the Confédération des Syndicats Nationaux (CSN), says negotiations with the employer have stalled for a year.

It is criticizing the lack of job security and says the salary issue has not been addressed yet. Full-time positions and work schedules are the main sticking points, the union said.

"We wanted to make a statement to the employer that we are serious about our demands," union vice-president Alexandre Bolduc said in an interview, adding work-life balance and workplace health and safety are among the main points of contention in the dispute.

Bolduc said employees of the liquor store, commonly known as the SAQ, currently lack training to deal with what he described as an increase in the number of aggressive customers in urban stores since the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Seventy per cent of SAQ employees are part-time, have no idea of their schedule two weeks in advance and never know if they will have a full week of work," union president Lisa Courtemanche said in a statement.

"We're looking to reduce the precarity," she said in an interview. "We don't have anyone left who wants to come and work at the SAQ. Our young colleagues are going elsewhere." 

Other demands include adding permanent positions, training and increasing the number of wine advisors and branch co-ordinators.

A spokesperson for SAQ declined to comment on the union's claims, but said the company is committed to reaching a labour agreement that is "satisfactory" to both parties. The SAQ says it has a plan to maintain service in the event of a strike, but urged customers to monitor its website to see which stores would remain open.

The employer said the 15 strike days can be split up and that it will try to ensure continuity of service.

Based on reporting by La Presse Canadienne and the Canadian Press

Mass furloughs reported at BNSF Railway operations in 4 states

Noi Mahoney
Fri, March 1, 2024 

BNSF Railway has reportedly furloughed 362 employees across the U.S. in a cost-cutting measure, according to the Transportation Trades Department with the AFL-CIO, the transportation labor federation representing U.S. rail unions and workers. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

BNSF Railway, one of the largest freight railroads in the U.S., has reportedly furloughed hundreds of employees in Kansas, Montana, Nebraska and Texas.

The furloughs were announced Tuesday, with 362 workers reportedly losing their jobs, according to the Transportation Trades Department (TTD) with the AFL-CIO, the transportation labor federation representing U.S. rail unions and workers.

“BNSF Railway callously announced it has furloughed over 362 mechanical department positions at numerous locations across their system,” Greg Regan, president of the TTD AFL-CIO, said in a letter obtained by FreightWaves. “BNSF has said that the slashing of these positions was necessary to realign with their business operations and to respond to business decline.”

Workers at BNSF terminals were reportedly furloughed at rail terminals in Kansas, Montana, Nebraska and Texas, according to posts on social media. While TTD AFL-CIO said the furloughs were in the mechanical department, social media posts indicated positions such as clerks, carmen, pipe fitters and laborers were also affected.

Fort Worth, Texas-based BNSF, whose total revenue in 2023 declined 8% year over year to $23.8 billion, said it is offering transfers and retraining for affected workers.

BNSF representatives issued a statement to FreightWaves about the furloughs:

“While the underlying economy currently lacks clarity, BNSF is pursuing and capturing growth in several areas. We have an imbalance of employees where growth is occurring among some of our mechanical work groups.

“We have team members in locations on the network where there isn’t sufficient work and simultaneously not enough team members where the growth is occurring. Work groups must be readjusted to ensure we have the right people in the right place at the right time to best serve our customers’ current transportation needs and be positioned for future growth.

“BNSF has offered location transfers with incentives targeted to those locations where there are open positions. BNSF has also offered craft transfers for mechanical employees to be retrained for other open positions on the BNSF network. There are currently several hundred open mechanical and engineering positions on our network. Our hope is that we can reallocate personnel through these incentive programs, so BNSF continues to grow with our customers.”

Regan said BNSF has notified the union that 150 mechanical jobs will be made available across the country for furloughed workers to reapply but could require workers to relocate and accept lower pay.

“If mechanical employees were to switch crafts they would be forfeiting their established seniority … by transferring to new locations, different mechanical crafts or the maintenance of way department positions,” Regan said. “They would be effectively starting their railroad careers over, as seniority is the cornerstone of work opportunities within the railroad industry.”

In the wake of the furloughs, the TTD AFL-CIO demanded immediate federal inspections of BNSF locomotives and rail cars.

“We urge the Federal Railroad Administration to immediately conduct unannounced focused inspections of all BNSF owned and leased locomotives and rail cars … and further issue non-compliance orders requiring BNSF to repair any defects before being permitted to utilize their locomotives and rail cars,” Regan wrote. “We have long-held concerns about numerous defects that are intentionally being ignored and neglected by BNSF because managers … are under pressure to perform work with an inadequate number of workers. These problems will only be exacerbated by the extreme mechanical department cuts that were carried out by BNSF.”

BNSF has over 40,000 employees and operates 32,500 miles of rail across the U.S.

Two days, two railroads in the spotlight: Missives flying over Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific


John Kingston
Fri, March 1, 2024 

The fur was flying Thursday and Friday over two class 1 railroads.

 (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Charges, countercharges and the missives were flying back and forth over the future of two Class 1 railroads as February came to an end, with leading government officials that regulate the rails leveling heavy criticism at two distinct players.

In the proxy battle roiling Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC), the activist investor group Ancora is recommending the replacement of eight new directors to the Norfolk Southern board. It also wants to replace CEO Alan Shaw with former UPS executive Jim Barber and name Jamie Boychuk, a former executive at CSX, to replace current COO Paul Duncan.

The scorecard for the criticism and the responses over a mere two days went like this:

— Martin Oberman, chairman of the Surface Transportation Board, ripped into Ancora Associates for its proxy battle over Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) railroad. Oberman spoke to the Southeast Association of Rail Shippers 2024 Spring Meeting in Atlanta on Thursday, where he said Ancora “has nothing to say about what it could do better” than current management in running Norfolk Southern, adding, “I think we can assume that if Ancora succeeds in its bid to control NS, its next move will be to put the Brooklyn Bridge on the market.”

— Ancora didn’t have any public response to Oberman’s comments, but on Friday, it sent a letter to the Norfolk Southern board, just a few days after the railroad released its 2024 proxy statement. The proxy revealed that in 2023 — the year when Norfolk Southern labored under the fallout from the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio — NS CEO Alan Shaw had total compensation of $13.41 million, compared to $9.78 million a year before.

— The second blast from a government official aimed at a railroad came from Amit Bose, the administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration. In a letter addressed to UP CEO Jim Vena,

Bose criticized recent furloughs implemented at Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP). “It is imperative that UP prioritizes safety above all else and takes immediate steps to address this issue, an issue disproportionately affecting UP workers since your railroad continues to furlough employees at a rate, based on available data, far outpacing that of any of your Class I peers.” Bose wrote.

— Union Pacific quickly responded to Bose’s comments with a letter from Vena, which said the FRA head was portraying an “inaccurate correlation between natural workforce fluctuations and safety.”

Oberman was harsh in his assessment of Ancora’s motives. “Several weeks ago, Ancora wrote me a letter,” Oberman said, according to a transcript released by the STB. “The essence of their message was that they had taken a $1 billion dollar stake in NS in order for it — quote — ‘to become a safer railroad.’ Really? What hedge fund raises $1 billion to promote safety anywhere?”

Oberman, as he has done before, criticized railroad focus on its operating ratio (OR), with the STB head expressing concern that a goal to reduce OR can come at the expense of both safety and performance.

“Ancora principally and repeatedly focuses on a rapid lowering of the OR to drive cash payouts and raise its stock price, harshly criticizing present NS management for not making a lower OR the objective,” Oberman said. “We now know that this is wrong-headed thinking. Making OR the corporate objective is what led to elimination of thousands of workers which caused the service crisis.”

The reference to the service crisis was from earlier in his speech when he recapped STB actions to force service improvements during the enormous system backups of 2022.

Ancora’s Friday letter was addressed to Amy Miles, the non-executive chair of the NS board. The letter said that Ancora — which as an activist investor has previously trained its sights on Forward Air (NASDAQ: FWRD) and C.H. Robinson (NASDAQ: CHRW) — said Shaw has “presided over industry-worst operating results, sustained share price underperformance and an ineffective and tone-deaf response to the preventable derailment in East Palestine.” It said Anchor had “offered viable solutions in the form of exceptional people with a strategic vision.”

Norfolk Southern’s stock price in the last 52 weeks is up about 14%. During that time, its fierce rival for business east of the Mississippi, CSX (NASDAQ: CSX), is up about 23.7% while Union Pacific is up 21.5%.

Focusing in on Shaw’s pay package from 2023

On the issue of Shaw’s pay, the Ancora letter said shareholders were “baffled” at the decision to give the CEO a raise in the same year as the East Palestine derailment and the fallout from it.

“We challenge the Board’s determination that it had to adjust executive compensation in 2023 to ‘retain key talent,’” Ancora said, quoting a board statement. “We do not see how the Board could have actually viewed Mr. Shaw as a flight risk. In addition to being a more than 30-year insider at Norfolk Southern, he was a relatively new, unproven CEO off to an extremely rocky start. The fact that this decision was made suggests deference to management and a lack of respect for shareholders and stakeholders.”

UP furloughs at issue

In the back-and-forth surrounding Union Pacific, Bose said UP’s decision to furlough some worker is a sign that the railroad “has again chosen to prioritize cost-cutting measures over ensuring safe operations, jeopardizing the well-being of both UP’s workers and the public.”

“Furloughing maintenance of equipment workers puts a strain on workers across the railroad, leading to fatigue and potential errors that could have severe ramifications for both workers and the public,” Bose wrote.

In a letter signed by Vena, UP responded to Bose’s criticism with several key rebuttals.

— It cited several statistical points about derailments, that “serious” derailments were down 26% in 2023 from 2019 levels, track-related derailments had declined 28% in the past 10 years, and that UP had recorded an 8.7% improvement in mainline derailments in 2023 versus 2021.

— The Vena letter said “fluctuations in workforce needs are a natural component of operating the railroad … normal, cyclical and vary from year to year based on business needs, capital projects and weather.”

To support its criticism that Bose was not making distinctions among types of workers and railroad needs, Vena’s response said the Bose letter “combines different types of workers (Mechanical employees and Engineering employees) and work done on the railroad (equipment maintenance and capital projects), and therefore paints an incorrect and incomplete picture of the natural role workforce fluctuations play in operating a railroad year-round.”

“We’ve already begun seeing an increase in demand and have more employees working in January and February of this year,” Vena wrote.

The letter also said workers impacted by furloughs and layoffs can apply for other positions at Union Pacific.

Haitian police unions plead for help after attack on main prison

Reuters
Sat, March 2, 2024 

 People demonstrate against the government and insecurity in Port-au-Prince

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Armed groups were closing in on Haiti's largest prison on Saturday night, defying police forces who called for help after days of gunfire in parts of the capital as a major gang leader seeks to topple Prime Minister Ariel Henry.

Two of the Caribbean country's main police unions called for assistance to stop inmates, many considered to be high-profile criminals, from fleeing the National Penitentiary in Port-Au-Prince.

It was unclear how many had fled the prison, a number that newspaper Gazette Haiti said was "significant." Some detainees were reluctant to leave en masse for fear of being killed in crossfire, sources told Reuters.


Police officers assigned to the prison had vacated the premises on Saturday, according to reports by local media AyiboPost.

The government of Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, did not comment on the situation on Saturday.

Heavy gunfire has caused panic in recent days after calls by gang leader Jimmy Cherizier, a former police officer, for criminal groups to unite and overthrow Henry. Cherizier, also known as Barbecue, heads an alliance of gangs and faces sanctions from the U.N. and the U.S.

The penitentiary, built to hold 700 prisoners, held 3,687 as of February last year, according to rights group RNDDH. A 2017 report by the group warned of serious overcrowding at the prison, which is said to suffer from poor police staffing.

The prison attack follows reports on Friday that armed men had attempted to take control of the capital's main container port, causing traffic disruptions, and gangs threatened to attack more of the city's police stations.

Cherizier this week warned locals to keep children from going to school to "avoid collateral damages" as violence surged.

Prime Minister Henry, who came to power after the assassination of the country's last president, Jovenel Moise, in 2021, had previously pledged to step down by early February. He later said security must first be re-established in order to ensure free and fair elections.

(Reporting by Harold Isaac; Writing by Lucinda Elliott; Editing by William Mallard)

Police in Haiti struggle against gangs storming prison in latest surge of violence

EVENS SANON
Sat, March 2, 2024 
14






Haiti Violence
Police take cover during an anti-gang operation in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Friday, March 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)


PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Police in Haiti urgently appealed for help Saturday night as they struggled to hold back gangs trying to storm the country's main prison in a major escalation of violence sweeping the troubled Caribbean nation.

“They need help,” a union representing Haitian police said in a message posted on social media bearing an “SOS” emoji repeated eight times. “Let's mobilize the army and the police to prevent the bandits from breaking into the prison.”

A police officer told The Associated Press that the gangs had overwhelmed security forces but were not yet in control of the prison, where several gang leaders were being held. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The armed clashes follow a string of violent protests that have been building for some time but turned deadlier in recent days as Prime Minister Ariel Henry went to Kenya to salvage a proposed security mission in Haiti to be led by that East African country and backed by the United Nations.

Henry took over as prime minister following the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise and has repeatedly postponed plans to hold parliamentary and presidential elections, which haven't taken place in almost a decade.

As part of coordinated attacks by gangs, four police officers were killed Thursday in the capital when gunmen opened fire on targets including Haiti's international airport. Gang members also seized control of two police stations, prompting civilians to flee in fear and forcing businesses and schools to close.

The penitentiary targeted by gangs is notorious for its extremely crowded and unhygienic conditions. Among its high-profile inmates are several gang leaders and 18 former Colombian soldiers accused in Moïse’s killing.

As a result of the violence at the airport, the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince said it was temporarily halting all official travel to Haiti.

Haiti’s National Police has roughly 9,000 officers to provide security for more than 11 million people, according to the U.N. The officers are routinely overwhelmed and outgunned by powerful gangs, which are estimated to control up to 80% of Port-au-Prince.

Jimmy Chérizier, a former elite police officer known as Barbecue who now runs a gang federation, claimed responsibility for the surge in attacks. He said the goal was to capture Haiti’s police chief and government ministers and prevent Henry's return.

The prime minister, a neurosurgeon, has shrugged off calls for his resignation and didn't comment when asked if he felt it was safe to return home.

He signed reciprocal agreements Friday with Kenyan President William Ruto to try and salvage the plan to deploy Kenyan police to Haiti. Kenya’s High Court had ruled in January that the proposed deployment was unconstitutional, in part because the original deal lacked reciprocal agreements between the two countries.

The violence has complicated efforts to stabilize Haiti and pave the way for elections. Caribbean leaders said Wednesday that Henry had agreed to schedule a vote by mid-2025 — a far-off date likely to further enrage Henry's opponents.


Armed gangs attack main prison in Haiti, releasing inmates

Jacqueline Charles
Sat, March 2, 2024


Armed gangs attacked Haiti’s National Penitentiary on Saturday, allowing several notorious gang leaders and other prisoners to escape the vastly overcrowded facility, a high-level police source confirmed.

The prison houses some of the country’s highest-profile inmates — including indicted suspects in the July 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse.

The break occurred after gangs had besieged the Port-au-Prince prison for days.

The siege unfolded while Prime Minister Ariel Henry was visiting Kenya. He is in the East African nation to finalize an agreement for the deployment of a United Nations-backed Multinational Security Support mission to help the Haiti National Police combat gang violence that has destabilized the country.

In his absence, terrorizing gangs launched an attack on the capital that led to the deaths of at least five police officers when they overtook a police station, and the cancellation of international flights. After shots were fired near the domestic and international airports on Thursday, both U.S.-based carriers, American Airlines and Spirit Airlines, canceled flights from South Florida while Haiti-based Sunrise Airways also canceled flights after bullets struck several of its airplanes. International flights resumed Friday.

As gangs continued their attack on Friday, however, the U.S. embassy issued a security alert to warn U.S. citizens that multiple locations in the capital were under heavy gunfire from violent gangs and that civilians should take precautions.

The attacks mark an escalation of already dangerous levels of violence in Haiti, where over 314,000 people have been forced from their homes and the toll is expected to rise with the latest wave of unrest.

READ MORE: Gang attacks at Haiti airport damage jetliners; airlines cancel flights from South Florida

The National Penitentiary in downtown Port-au-Prince is Haiti’s most overcrowded prison. It was designed for 3,900 inmates, but as of early January held 11, 778 inmates. They include 18 Colombians accused in the assassination plot against Moïse, as well as the late president’s palace security chief, Dimitri Hérard, and security coordinator, Jean Laguel Civil. All were recently indicted by a Haitian investigative judge in the killing.
Gangs using drones

Earlier Saturday, a video circulated online with an image of the prison from a drone reportedly being operated by the leader of the Baz 5 Segon gang, Izo. A voice could be heard monitoring the penitentiary and reporting on the lack of police presence in the prison yard and informing gang members they could progress. In another recording, an unidentified voice could be heard confirming the prison break.

Izo also shared a drone video on TikTok from on top of an office building in the palace yard. Specialized police officers from the National Palace’s security unit could be seen lying flat on the roof as a voice mocked them and said “keep shooting at them.”

A Haiti National Police spokesman did not respond to a Miami Herald request for comment, and the high-level police source did not provide additional details.

In separate social media posts on X, formerly Twitter, two Haitian police unions launched a SOS, asking for police officers to unite to protect the prisons and strategic intersections, such as the road leading to the international airport.

Gang members, who now appear to be more coordinated and united than ever, had been trying for months to breach the country’s main prison. Unsuccessful attempts on both the prison and National Palace were reported on Friday as automatic gunfire rang out across the capital and armed gangs continued to target police officers and government facilities.

Earlier in the week, former policeman-turned-gang member Jimmy Chérizier, aka Barbecue, took credit for the latest wave of violence, saying in a video shared online that the goal is to “topple” Henry and his government.


Violence surges as Haiti gang leader aims to unseat PM

Reuters Videos
Updated Sat, March 2, 2024 



STORY: Chaos and violence surged in Haiti’s capital on Friday (March 1).

Heavy gunfire rang out in Port-au-Prince, after a Haitian gang leader Jimmy Cherizier, known as Barbecue, warned he would try to oust Prime Minister Ariel Henry.

Bodies of slain victims lay on streets. It was unclear how many have died so far.

There were unverified reports of armed men trying to take control of the capital’s main container port.

The gangs also reportedly threatened to attack more police stations.

Reuters was unable to independently confirm these claims.

Assault rifle in hand, Cherizier addressed the island's law enforcement:

""We ask the Haitian National Police and the military to take responsibility and arrest Ariel Henry. Once again, the population is not our enemy; the armed groups are not your enemy. You arrest Ariel Henry for the country's liberation."

In a statement, Prime Minister Henry’s office said it was "outraged by the acts of violence and terror orchestrated by armed bandits."

The fresh attacks ramped up during Henry's visit to Kenya this week – where he reached a security deal with Nairobi removing legal obstacles that stop the sending of Kenyan police officers to Haiti, to tackle gang violence in a U.N.-approved mission.

Haitian gangs have grown in strength in the power vacuum since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise, Henry’s predecessor.

At a recent Caribbean summit, Henry told leaders he would hold elections by 2025, after postponing an earlier pledge due to the insecurity.

Haitian gang leader vows to 'fight' prime minister, violence surges

Reuters
Updated Fri, March 1, 2024 





 People demonstrate against the government and insecurity in Port-au-Prince

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Haitian gang leader Jimmy Cherizier, also known as Barbecue, warned on Friday he would keep trying to oust Prime Minister Ariel Henry, and asked families to keep children from going to school to "avoid collateral damages" as violence surges in parts of the capital.

Heavy gunfire and traffic disruptions were seen in some areas of Haiti's capital, where more people fled homes close to the fighting as burnt buses lay on the streets and burning barricades filled the air with thick, gray smoke.

"The battle will last as long as it needs to. We will keep fighting Ariel Henry. To avoid collateral damage, keep the kids at home," the gang leader said at a press conference.

Cherizier is a former police officer who heads an alliance of gangs and disrupted the country when he blocked its biggest oil terminal in 2022. He has faced sanctions from both the United Nations and the United States Department of Treasury.

By late Friday, there were reports armed men had attempted to take control of the capital's main container port, as gangs threatened to attack more of the city's police stations. Reuters was unable to immediately verify these reports.

A video, meanwhile, went viral on social media appearing to show two murdered policemen, which SYNAPOHA police union leader Lionel Lazare told Reuters depicted the killing of some of the four officers who were slain on Thursday.

Members of another police union, the SPNH, gathered outside the force headquarters earlier in the day calling for the recovery of the bodies.

In a statement, Prime Minister Henry's office said it was "outraged by the acts of violence and terror orchestrated by armed bandits," and expressed condolences to victims' families, saying the government would continue to work to resolve the conflict.

Violence ramped up during Henry's visit to Kenya this week. The two countries signed earlier in the day a security deal that Nairobi hopes will satisfy a domestic court's objections to its plan to send 1,000 police officers to lead a U.N.-approved mission aimed at tackling gang violence in Haiti.

Henry had previously been in Guyana for a regional Caribbean summit, during which he told leaders he would hold elections by August 2025, after postponing an earlier pledge due to the insecurity.

Henry came to power after the 2021 assassination of the country's last president. Haiti last held elections in 2016 and ensuring a transition of power is a goal of the international mission alongside securing routes for humanitarian aid.

The United Nations estimates some 300,000 people in Haiti have fled their homes.

(Reporting by Harold Isaac, Steven Aristil and Ralph Tedy Erol; Writing by Sarah Morland; Editing by Brendan O'Boyle and Himani Sarkar)
View comments (8)



Haiti gangs vow to oust PM as they unleash gunfight in capital

Our Foreign Staff
Fri, March 1, 2024 

People drive past a burning road blockade as protesters call for the prime minister to resign - Ralph Tedy Erol

Gun battles broke out in Haiti’s capital on Thursday, leaving four police officers dead, as a gang leader launched attacks aimed at ousting the country’s prime minister.

Shots were heard across Port-au-Prince as authorities fought gunmen who had targeted police stations, as well as a police academy and the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in a coordinated assault.
‌
Gang leader Jimmy Cherisier, known by the nickname Barbecue, said in a social media video before the attacks began: “Today, we announce that all armed groups are going to act to get prime minister Ariel Henry to step down.”
‌
“We will use all strategies to achieve this goal,” he said. “We claim responsibility for everything that’s happening in the streets right now.”
‌
Armed gangs have taken control of vast swaths of Haiti in recent years, including most of the capital, unleashing violence that has left the country’s economy and public health system in tatters.
‌
At the same time, the Caribbean nation has also been engulfed in widespread civil and political unrest, with thousands taking to the streets in recent weeks to demand the prime minister step down after he refused to do so as scheduled.

Police take cover as they try to control gangs who forced businesses, agencies and schools to close earlier in Port-au-Prince 

- Odelyn Joseph/AP

Under a political deal concluded after the assassination of president Jovenel Moïse in 2021, Haiti was supposed to hold elections and Mr Henry cede power to newly elected officials by Feb 7 2024, but that hasn’t happened.
‌
Thursday’s attacks came as the prime minister was on a visit to Kenya, which is moving to head up a multinational mission greenlit by the UN Security Council to help the Haitian police wrest back control of the country.
‌
Special police units were deployed throughout Port-au-Prince and national police trade union Synapoha said four officers had been killed, including a chief inspector.
‌
Schools, universities and businesses in Haiti meanwhile halted their activities.
‌
Multiple airlines cancelled domestic and international flights after aircraft and an airport terminal came under fire.
‘No political solution’

Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary general, called for the restoration of order and a long-term solution for years of political turmoil in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western hemisphere.
‌
“You can put as many police forces as possible in Haiti [but] if there is no political solution, the problem will not be solved,” he said in the Caribbean nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines ahead of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States summit.
‌
Mr Henry had on Wednesday agreed to “share power” with the opposition until fresh elections are held, though a date for the vote has not been set.
‌
Five countries have said they are willing to join the Kenya-led multinational policing mission, including the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin and Chad.
‌
The UN estimates the violence in Haiti killed almost 5,000 people in 2023 and has driven some 300,000 from their homes, while the fighting has blocked off access to food and medical services.

Kenya, Haiti sign 'reciprocal' accord on police deployment

Hillary ORINDE
Fri, March 1, 2024 

Kenya has said it is ready to provide up to 1,000 personnel to a UN-backed law and order mission to Haiti (YASUYOSHI CHIBA)

Kenya and Haiti signed a "reciprocal" agreement on Friday to deploy police from the East African country to lead a UN-backed law and order mission to the gang-plagued Caribbean nation, Kenyan President William Ruto said.

Ruto said he and Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry had "discussed the next steps to enable the fast-tracking of the deployment", but it was not immediately clear whether the agreement would counter a court ruling in January that branded the deployment "illegal".

Haiti's government has pleaded for international help to confront violence that has cost thousands of lives, as armed gangs take over entire swathes of the country, leaving the economy and public health system in tatters.

Kenya had previously said that it was ready to provide up to 1,000 personnel, an offer welcomed by the United States and other nations that had ruled out putting their own forces on the ground.

But a Nairobi court said the decision was unconstitutional, in part because the two countries had not signed a reciprocal agreement on the issue.

On Friday, Ruto said he and Henry had "witnessed the signing" of a reciprocal agreement in Kenya's capital Nairobi. Details of the document have not been made public.

"I take this opportunity to reiterate Kenya's commitment to contribute to the success of this multinational mission. We believe this is a historic duty because peace in Haiti is good for the world as a whole," Ruto said in a statement.

The UN Security Council had approved the multinational mission in early October but the Kenyan court ruling threw its future into doubt.

Opposition politician Ekuru Aukot, who had filed the petition against the deployment, told AFP on Friday that he would lodge a case "for contempt of court".

"What is emerging is that William Ruto does not care about the rule of law or the constitution of this country," he said.

"We will question the validity of this secretive agreement."

- 'A helping hand' -

In the face of criticism, Ruto had described the Kenyan undertaking as a "mission for humanity", in step with its long record of contributing to peacekeeping missions abroad.

Haiti, the Western hemisphere's poorest nation, has been in turmoil for years, and the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise plunged the country further into chaos.

No elections have taken place since 2016 and the presidency remains vacant.

Thousands of protesters have demanded Henry's resignation in line with a political deal that required Haiti to hold polls and for him to cede power to newly elected officials by February 7 of this year.

The prime minister, who is on a visit to Nairobi, told an audience of university students on Friday he aimed to "have elections as soon as possible".

"We need elections to stabilise the country," he said, but offered no specific timeframe for the polls.

On Thursday, the Caribbean Community bloc said Henry had agreed to hold elections by 31 August 2025 following a regional summit this week in Guyana.

In January alone, more than 1,100 people were killed, injured or kidnapped in Haiti, according to the UN.

"In October 2022, we asked the world to give us a helping hand. President Ruto was the first one to agree to come to Haiti and we want to say thank you to him," Henry said.

"We thank Kenya for its active solidarity."

The multinational mission -- initially approved for one year -- had envisioned Kenyan police on the offensive with their Haitian counterparts, who are outnumbered and outgunned by gang members.

Five countries have agreed to join the Kenya-led multinational policing mission, including the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin and Chad.

Last year saw nearly 5,000 homicides counted in Haiti, more than double the number in 2022, according to a UN report.

str-ho-dyg-amu/bp

South Korean doctors hold massive anti-government rally over medical school recruitment plan

HYUNG-JIN KIM
Sun, March 3, 2024 

Doctors stage a rally against the government's medical policy in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, March 3, 2024. Thousands of senior doctors rallied in Seoul on Sunday to express their support for junior doctors who have been on strike for nearly two weeks over a government plan to sharply increase the number of medical school admissions.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)


SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Thousands of senior doctors rallied in Seoul on Sunday to express their support for junior doctors who have been on strike for nearly two weeks over a government plan to sharply increase the number of medical school admissions.

The rally came as the government said it would begin to take steps Monday to suspend the medical licenses of nearly 9,000 medical interns and residents for defying government orders to end their walkouts, which have disrupted hospital operations.

“The government’s absurd medical policy has triggered immense resistance by trainee doctors and medical students, and we doctors have become one,” Park Sung-min, a senior member of the Korea Medical Association, said in a speech at the rally. “I’m asking the government: Please, stop the threats and suppression now.”


Protesters chanted slogans, sang and held placards criticizing the government’s plan. There were were no reports of any violence at the rally.

As of Thursday night, 8,945 of the country’s 13,000 medical interns and residents were confirmed to have left their worksites, according to the Health Ministry. The government has repeatedly said they would face minimum three-month license suspensions and indictments by prosecutors if they didn’t return by Feb. 29.

The striking doctors are a fraction of South Korea’s 140,000 doctors. But they account for about 30-40% of the total doctors at some major hospitals, where they assist senior doctors during surgeries and other treatments while training. Their walkouts have subsequently caused numerous cancellations of surgeries and medical treatments at the hospitals.

Senior doctors have staged a series of rallies backing the young doctors but haven't joined the walkouts. If they also launch strikes, that would pose a major blow to South Korea's medical service.

The government wants to increase South Korea’s medical school enrollment quota by 2,000 starting next year, from the current 3,058, to better deal with the country’s rapidly aging population. Officials say South Korea’s doctor-to-population ratio is one of the lowest among developed countries.

But many doctors have vehemently protested the plan, saying medical schools can’t handle such a sharp increase in the number of students. They say the recruitment plan also does not address a chronic shortage of doctors in essential but low-paying specialties like pediatrics and emergency departments.

Doctors say adding too many new doctors would also result in an increase in public medical expenses since greater competition would lead to excess treatments. But critics say the doctors simply worry about receiving a lower income due to the rising number of doctors.

South Korea police launch raid on doctors' association over walkout

South Korean doctors march to protest against the government's medical policy in Seoul

Fri, March 1, 2024 By Hyunsu Yim

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean police launched a raid on Friday targeting officials of the Korean Medical Association, as authorities step up pressure to end a walkout by trainee doctors protesting against plans to reform the health system.

The raid comes ahead of a mass demonstration in Seoul planned for Sunday by doctors, after the walkout, which began on Feb. 20, disrupted major hospitals, forcing some to turn away patients and cancel surgeries and other medical procedures.

"Doctors are enraged by the government's absurd behavior," the KMA, which represents private practitioners, said in a statement after the raid on the leaders of its emergency committee.

"The government has clearly shown that doctors in South Korea cannot enjoy freedom."

It denied having encouraged the trainee doctors to resign, saying they had left their posts of their own volition.

Health ministry data showed more than two-thirds of the trainee doctors, or nearly 9,000, had ignored a government deadline to return to work by Thursday or face punishment.

They are protesting against a plan to increase medical school admissions by 2,000 starting from 2025, which the government says is vital to remedy a shortage of doctors in one of the world's fastest-ageing societies.

The young doctors say they are overworked and underpaid, however, and the priority should be to improve their pay and working conditions instead.

Seoul police investigators raided the offices of five current and former KMA officials to collect evidence from their mobile telephones and computers, the Yonhap news agency said.

The health ministry told police this week of accusations that the officials had sought to obstruct business activity and were abetting the strike as well as defying the order to return to work, the agency added.

Police in the capital did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

During a visit to a veterans hospital in Seoul, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo pledged on Friday to ensure there was no disruption to services for veterans of the military.

The health ministry posted an order on its website urging 13 of the striking doctors to return to work or face criminal charges.

The government can order doctors back to work in case of grave risk to lives and public health.

Flouting such orders could lead to suspension of medical licences for up to a year, as well as three years in jail or a fine of 30 million won ($22,000).

($1=1,334.8500 won)

(Reporting by Hyunsu Yim; Editing by Ed Davies and Clarence Fernandez)


South Korea Doctors Rally as Government Calls for End to Walkout

Jon Herskovitz and Sam Kim
Sat, March 2, 2024 




(Bloomberg) -- South Korean doctors led thousands of protesters in Seoul on Sunday as a standoff with the government nears a third week, in one of the largest demonstrations yet for a labor action that has slowed the delivery of health care.

Protesters wore masks and carried banners with messages demanding the government scrap its plan to increase enrollment in medical schools, footage from local broadcaster MBC showed. The Korean Medical Association — the nation’s largest lobby group for physicians — said about 30,000 people are at the march.

About 70% of South Korea’s 13,000 trainee doctors have walked out in the past two weeks over the initiative. The government argues the number of medical students has not been raised for about three decades and that South Korea now has one of the most acute doctor shortages in the developed world amid a rapidly aging population.

The KMA led the rally with its leaders speaking at the podium and vowing to refuse talks until President Yoon Suk Yeol’s government backs down. South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Sunday the administration would “go ahead and implement its duty” if doctors stayed off the job in violation of law, Yonhap News Agency reported. It wasn’t clear what that would entail.

Yoon has stood firm on the plan to add 2,000 spaces at medical schools from 3,058 now. His administration has indicated willingness to discuss doctors’ concerns such as low pay and long hours for trainees, and revisions to the legal system for malpractice suits. It said the walkout has led to people being turned away from understaffed emergency rooms and the cancellation of about half of surgeries.

Yoon’s approval rating climbed to 39% in a weekly tracking poll released Friday from Gallup Korea, the highest since July last year, indicating broad support among the public for his stance to hold firm. This could help his conservative People Power Party in April elections as it tries to take control of parliament from the progressive Democratic Party.

Authorities have threatened to arrest and prosecute people who refused to comply by the government order to return to work. The government is looking at suspending licenses of doctors who encouraged the labor action that it says defies medical regulations and violates the law.

Critics of the walkout contend that doctors participating in the labor action are more keen on protecting their earning power, which ranks among the top among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries, rather than improving the quality of the health-care system.

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

Thousands of Striking Doctors in South Korea Defy Government’s Return-to-Work Deadline

Koh Ewe
Fri, March 1, 2024 



Tensions continue to soar between thousands of striking South Korean doctors and the government, as a vast majority of the protesting junior residents have refused to go back to work on Friday despite threats of prosecution for their ongoing collective action and promises of immunity from penalty if they had quit their walkout by now.

Only 294 doctors out of some 9,000 striking doctors have returned to work as of Thursday night since the strike began on Feb. 20, Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo told reporters. Authorities had given an ultimatum earlier in the week, promising striking doctors that they would not be held accountable if they returned to work by Thursday evening but that the government would begin to take legal action against remaining strikers starting Friday.

The doctors are protesting a government plan to address the country’s longstanding doctor shortage by increasing the annual quota for medical students from 3,058 to 5,058 beginning in 2025. Critics say the protesting doctors are worried that the quota expansion will hurt their competitive pay, while doctors argue the plan will do little to address the poor working conditions in fields where the personnel shortages are most pressing.

As of Wednesday evening, around 10,000 residents—80% of all junior doctors—had tendered their resignations as part of the protest. Around 9,000 were on strike—a slight decrease from the previous day, per health authorities, who also noted that the number of striking doctors had decreased two days in a row.

Across 100 teaching hospitals in the country, there were 32 hospitals where more than one person has returned to work, and 10 hospitals where more than 10 have returned, Park said on Thursday, adding there are also hospitals where up to 66 doctors have resumed work.

Authorities have issued over 9,400 back-to-work orders to striking doctors, but many have avoided accepting the text message orders by simply turning off their phones and changing their phone numbers. In response, officials are now visiting the homes of trainee doctors to personally deliver the orders. The Ministry of Health has also posted back-to-work orders for about a dozen trainee doctors on the ministry website, local media reported. These steps would allow authorities to subsequently file criminal complaints with those who refuse to comply with the back-to-work orders.

Defying a back-to-work order can be punished by up to three years in prison, a 30 million won ($22,000) fine, or a minimum three-month medical license suspension.

The government has stood firm on its quota expansion plan, which remains broadly popular among the general public, with the health ministry lodging its first criminal complaint against five alleged organizers of the strike on Tuesday. On Friday, police raided several offices at the Korean Medical Association and Seoul Medical Association, which have been accused of violating medical law for their alleged role in instigating the strike.

At the same time, authorities also appear to be trying to assuage concerns among doctors about the quota expansion plan, with the health ministry announcing on Thursday that the government would add up to 1,000 medical professors at key national hospitals by 2027 in response to worries raised by doctors that increasing the intake of medical students would affect the quality of medical care and education. Meanwhile, Park said that officials had invited 94 representatives of the striking doctors to a meeting on Thursday, but only a handful of doctors showed up.

Hospitals across the country are being stretched to their limits, with some patients having their treatments postponed amid a shortage of doctors. The heads of hospitals have written emails begging doctors to return. “Your sincerity is well-delivered,” Kim Young-tae, the president of Seoul National University wrote on Wednesday. “A handful of patients suffering from high-risk diseases and incurable illnesses await you. Now, please come back.”

S. Korea police raid medical association office over walkout
AFP
Fri, March 1, 2024 

Nearly 10,000 junior doctors -- about 80 percent of the trainee workforce -- walked off the job last week (Jung Yeon-je)

South Korean police said they raided the offices of the Korean Medical Association on Friday, as the government contends with a doctors' strike that has led to chaos in hospitals.

Nearly 10,000 junior doctors -- about 80 percent of the trainee workforce -- walked off the job last week. They are protesting against government plans to sharply increase medical school admissions to cope with shortages and an ageing society.

The government had set a February 29 deadline for medics to resume work or face potential legal consequences, including suspension of their medical licences and arrest.

Only 565 doctors had resumed work by the deadline, according to figures released by the health ministry.

The mass work stoppage has taken a toll on hospitals, prompting the government to raise its public health alert to the highest level.

Around half of the surgeries scheduled at 15 major hospitals have been cancelled since last week, according to the health ministry.

Under South Korean law, doctors are restricted from striking, and the government this week requested police investigate people connected to the stoppage.

Police in Seoul confirmed a raid on the Korean Medical Association (KMA) on Friday.

The health ministry also posted on its website the back-to-work orders for 13 trainee doctors, leaving their licence numbers and parts of their names visible.

"We would like to inform you that refusing to comply with the order to commence work without justifiable reasons may result in disciplinary action and criminal prosecution," the order said.

Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong said in a statement released Friday: "We express our gratitude for the wise decision of the trainee doctors who have returned to the patients' side."

The KMA said its members were "enraged" by the raid and said they would continue "resisting and raising voices".

"Doctors will have to make every effort to be recognised as a free citizen in South Korea," spokesman Joo Soo-ho said.

"We apologise for any inconvenience that we may cause to the public during this process."

- Rally on Sunday -

South Korea's government is pushing to admit 2,000 more students to medical schools annually from next year to address what it calls one of the lowest doctor-to-population ratios among developed nations.

Doctors fear the reform will erode the quality of service and medical education, but proponents accuse medics of trying to safeguard their salaries and social status.

Junior doctors argue that the healthcare system's over-reliance on trainees is unreasonable and unfair.

Polling shows up to 75 percent of the public support the reforms.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, who has taken a hard line on the striking doctors, has seen his approval ratings tick up.

With legislative elections in April, and Yoon's party looking to win back a parliamentary majority, the government is unlikely to compromise quickly, analysts said.

The KMA has accused the government of using "intimidation tactics" to try to force doctors back to work, and said it was turning the country into a "totalitarian state".

The medical association will hold a rally in Seoul on Sunday, with local reports saying around 25,000 people are expected to join.

cdl/pbt