Wednesday, November 30, 2022

Excitement, defiance for young Chinese in COVID 'tipping point' protests

Reuters
James Pomfret and Martin Quin Pollard
Publishing date: Nov 30, 2022 
Ottawa Citizen
Protesters take part in a rally commemorating victims of China's COVID Zero policy outside Shinjuku Station on November 30, 2022 in Tokyo, Japan. Protesters took to the streets in multiple Chinese cities after a deadly apartment fire in Xinjiang province sparked a national outcry as many blamed COVID restrictions for the deaths. 
PHOTO BY TOMOHIRO OHSUMI /Getty Images


HONG KONG/BEIJING — When Yang, a Shanghai office worker, saw video clips of a burning building in western China, a disaster in which 10 people were killed, she said she could not contain her anger over tough COVID-19 measures three years into the 

Watching a World Cup soccer match in a Shanghai bar two days later with her boyfriend, she spotted calls on WeChat, China’s ubiquitous messaging app, for a public gathering to mourn the victims. She rushed over by bicycle to attend.

“Things reached a tipping point, we had to come out,” Yang, 32, who declined to be identified by her full name given fear of reprisals, told Reuters.

Six young people who spoke to Reuters from four cities across China – all dipping their toes in activism for the first time – describe a mix of elation, fear and defiance after a restive weekend and a tightening of security.

While united against China’s stifling “zero-COVID” measures, all six also spoke of a yearning for broader political freedoms, 33 years after students occupied China’s Tiananmen Square in 1989.

When Yang arrived at the gathering, small crowds were heckling ranks of police deployed beneath the mottled plane trees of Wulumuqi Road, named after Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region where the fire occurred.

Authorities have denied the deaths in the fire were linked to lockdown measures that blocked the victims’ escape.

“We don’t want masks, we want freedoms,” Yang chanted, using her phone to share pictures, videos and posts over Twitter, Telegram and Instagram – apps not accessible on the mainland without a virtual private network, that she’d installed.

As the hours wore on, chants grew bolder.

“Down with the Chinese Communist Party,” people chanted, some casting off their masks. “Down with Xi Jinping!”

But much of the public frustration is directed at President Xi’s signature zero-COVID policy, rather than at him or the ruling party.

While many in China have supported the policy, which has spared it from the ravages of a virus that has killed millions elsewhere, significant frustration has built as a new wave of infections has led to the return of widespread lockdowns.

A senior health official said on Tuesday public complaints about the curbs stemmed from overzealous implementation rather than from the measures themselves, and authorities would continue fine-tuning policy to reduce the impact on society.

China has relied mainly on domestically produced vaccines, which some studies have suggested are not as effective as some foreign ones, meaning lifting COVID measures could come with big risks, some experts say.


 People hold white sheets of paper in protest of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions, after a vigil for the victims of a fire in Urumqi, as outbreaks of the coronavirus disease continue in Beijing, China, November 27, 2022. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

‘FIRST TIME’


Considering herself part of a small “liberal bubble” in Shanghai – China’s most cosmopolitan city – Yang did not imagine so many people sharing her frustrations in a country that has grown increasingly authoritarian in the decade since Xi assumed power.

“This is the first time in my life I’ve done something like this,” she said. “In my heart, I’ve murmured such things a thousand times, but hearing these slogans suddenly chanted by so many real people was exciting and shocking to me.”

For many in other cities, the COVID lockdowns have exacerbated a sense of powerlessness.

“The protests are happening because under the COVID prevention measures people can’t satisfy their fundamental needs to survive,” said Jiayin, who took part in a demonstration in Guangzhou, a southern city with some of China’s highest recent infection numbers.

There, over the weekend, people thronged a bridge connecting two districts under lockdown and sang a Cantonese song called “Sky” by Hong Kong band Beyond, which was hugely popular among Hong Kong’s pro-democracy demonstrators in 2019.

More than 2,000 km to the north, students at elite universities were also mobilizing.

Cheng, a 23-year-old social science student who stood with hundreds on the campus of Beijing’s prestigious Tsinghua University, Xi’s alma mater, stressed that it was the duty of the elite to lead in pushing for social justice.

“I’m very proud that I can stand up with the best young people in China and speak out for everyone,” said Cheng.

She and other young protesters are tech savvy, with many communicating over Telegram in amorphous, anonymous and decentralized acts of defiance, with echoes of Hong Kong’s leaderless pro-democracy protests in 2019.

They have found support from overseas groups and online organizers, providing know-how on information security and how to evade censors.

The morning after her protest, Yang attended to chores at home after snatching three hours sleep then spent the day glued to her phone, posting incessantly. At times, she scolded friends who urged her to be “rational” and avoid the protests.

In one post, she wrote: “In an irrational reality, being rational and using logical words are far, far from adequate.”

“My brain felt overloaded with information, and my mood wasn’t stable,” she said.

With police in various cities now checking people’s phones for apps like Telegram, however, and summoning some people for interviews, Yang said she would lie low for now, using a clean “burner” phone to go out with.

“At this stage it’s better to wait for a while.”

Despite the risks, Dai’an, who identifies herself as a feminist and lives in the southwestern city of Chengdu, says she is driven by a “very simple sense of justice.”

“The worst is that you’ll be locked up right? But it’s better than facing the reality day by day and then not being able to do anything, and then you feel sorry for yourself.”

She attended a protest on Wangping Street, a location chosen because its name means “looking at ping,” an allusion to Xi Jinping.

“I don’t feel like I’m making history,” said Cheng. “But we live in history every day. I will always remember that.” 

(Reporting by James Pomfret, Martin Quin Pollard, and Jessie Pang; Writing by James Pomfret; Editing by Tony Munroe)

Why humanitarians need to talk about Elon Musk’s Twitter

Changes will impact emergency response. Aid workers can’t be passive observers.


Aanjalie Roane
Humanitarian communications professional based in Ottawa
THE NEW HUMANITARIAN
Dado Ruvic/Reuters

OTTAWA, Canada
Humanitarians can’t afford to sit out conversations about Twitter’s next chapter. Too much is at stake.

The internet is ablaze with discussions surrounding Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover. The commentary has largely focused on the potential impacts of Musk’s proposed reforms on Western users. But the conversation shouldn’t stop there.

Countries like India, Brazil, and Indonesia boast among the highest number of Twitter users – a whopping 23 million, 19 million, and 18 million users respectively – and Mexico, Thailand, the Philippines, and Egypt aren’t far behind.

In these countries and beyond, Twitter has been used to both help and hinder humanitarian efforts.

Local activists and humanitarians have used the platform to help catalyse revolutions, to share and collect lifesaving information, and to flag needs during emergencies. On the flip side, Twitter has also obstructed humanitarian efforts by providing an unchecked platform for misinformation and hate – often with disastrous consequences.

As a humanitarian communications professional who has directly witnessed the influence of social media networks on emergency responses in West Africa, Greece, Lebanon, and beyond, I am concerned about what Musk’s proposed reforms could mean for the future of aid. Here are three implications:
1. Loosening oversight could weaken humanitarian responses

Musk’s expected intention to loosen content moderation on Twitter is one area where humanitarians need to pay close attention.

While the billionaire’s precise plan to unlock free speech on Twitter is yet to be unveiled, previous statements have suggested a desire to relax community standards and put an end to permanent account bans. As of 23 November, Twitter stopped enforcing policies that previously labelled and removed misleading COVID-19 information.

Weak social media moderation policies can exacerbate humanitarian crises, from amplifying hate speech during conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, to mobilising anti-migration sentiments during COVID-19 in Greece. Twitter has also been weaponised by groups like the so-called Islamic State, or ISIS, which maintains at least 42,000 Twitter accounts for propaganda campaigns, mostly in Syria, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. Despite scaling up efforts to restrict harmful content in recent years, Twitter’s screening tools remain inadequate for scanning foreign-language posts – so a steer toward further cutbacks is worrying.

Loosening content rules can also slow efforts to share and receive timely and reliable information during crises. When emergencies strike, real-time posting on Twitter helps humanitarians better understand the situation and communicate where and how people can find help like food, shelter, and medical assistance. Misinformation on social media can hamper these efforts – like in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where fake news about the Ebola vaccine contributed to existing mistrust towards health officials and aid workers. Without a more nuanced vision for content moderation, this may become the new norm on Musk’s Twitter.
2. Content editing may deteriorate humanitarian legitimacy and accountability

New efforts to introduce content editing features like an “edit button” on Twitter may also have deep consequences for the humanitarian sector. With new editing abilities, nefarious actors can turn to Twitter to share seemingly innocuous content – and then revise those same posts to include propaganda, hate, or misinformation after they’ve already raked in thousands of retweets. Combined with the platform’s ongoing cybersecurity issues, it could now become possible for hackers to edit and change legitimate humanitarian information posted online – for example, from government authorities or UN agencies during a disaster.

In recent years, whistleblowers have increasingly used Twitter to demand greater accountability from humanitarian organisations – an ability that could deteriorate with new editing features. For example, critics have often turned to Twitter to call out white saviour tropes and imagery shared by international NGOs in their online campaigns – but what happens when problematic content can simply be edited out in the face of criticism? While this might pave the way for international NGOs to revise old content with a more anti-racist lens, it could also swap more meaningful accountability in favour of simply editing away mistakes with the click of a button.
3. Monetising the checkmark: Another roadblock for humanitarians and activists

Finally, Musk’s plans to create a new subscription model for Twitter's coveted checkmarks warrants interrogation. Iranian activists have already warned how a pay-for-verification model could help Iranian government officials and other anti-protest actors appear more legitimate. At the same time, activists who previously gained their blue checkmarks organically may lose them if they aren’t able to afford the fees.

A new model could also snatch the megaphone from the hands of those who have few other ways to participate in global humanitarian decision-making. At a time when access to important humanitarian-related summits remains restrictive – either because of costly travel or prohibitive participation rules – Twitter verification at least provides a platform to voice perspectives that might otherwise be sidelined. During this year’s International AIDS Conference, for example, many activists turned to Twitter when visa issues barred them from attending in-person in Montreal. A tiered verification system may weaken this advocacy potential.

Whether we like it or not, Twitter is changing – and humanitarians must change with it. We have a responsibility to use our voices to push for more sophisticated moderation mechanisms, stringent cybersecurity, and equitable verification processes that support people affected by emergencies.

The future of Twitter remains unclear, and we can’t afford to have it determined by the whims of one unpredictable billionaire.

Aanjalie Roane is director of communications at Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Canada but is writing this in a personal capacity.

UK

Ambulance staff to hold first strike in 30 years ahead of Christmas as looming NHS winter crisis worsens

30 November 2022

Ambulance workers across England are set to strike before Christmas
Ambulance workers across England are set to strike before Christmas. Picture: Alamy

By Emma Soteriou

Ambulance workers across England are set to strike in the lead up to Christmas amid a mounting NHS winter crisis.

More than 80,000 health workers across England voted in favour of industrial action over pay and staffing levels.

Unison confirmed the decision on Tuesday, saying thousands of 999 call handlers, ambulance technicians, paramedics and their colleagues working for ambulance services in the North East, North West, London, Yorkshire and the South West are to be called out on strike.

The union's health committee is analysing the results of the ballot and will decide what happens next.

Read more: Armed forces set to rescue NHS under emergency plans for winter walkouts

Read more: Ulez expansion will put ‘enormous’ financial pressure on the NHS and carers, warns Care England chief

GMB - the largest union for ambulance staff - is also expected to declare its members have voted in favour of walkouts in coming weeks.

It comes after the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) announced that its members would stage their first ever national walk out on December 15 and 20.

Some 200,000 health workers are now understood to be backing strikes.

Ambulance staff during Clap For Our Carers
Ambulance staff during Clap For Our Carers. Picture: Alamy

Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said: "The decision to take action and lose a day's pay is always a tough call. It's especially challenging for those whose jobs involve caring and saving lives.

"But thousands of ambulance staff and their NHS colleagues know delays won't lessen, nor waiting times reduce, until the Government acts on wages. That's why they've taken the difficult decision to strike.

"Patients will always come first and emergency cover will be available during any strike. But unless NHS pay and staffing get fixed, services and care will continue to decline.

"The public knows health services won't improve without huge increases in staffing and wants the government to pay up to save the NHS. It's high time ministers stopped using the pay review body as cover for their inaction.

"Jeremy Hunt, Rishi Sunak and Steve Barclay must roll up their sleeves and start talking to unions about how better wages for staff can help start to turn the NHS around."

Thousands of 999 call handlers, ambulance technicians, paramedics and their colleagues are to be called out on strike
Thousands of 999 call handlers, ambulance technicians, paramedics and their colleagues are to be called out on strike. Picture: Alamy

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: "I’m hugely grateful for the hard work and dedication of NHS staff and deeply regret some will be taking industrial action – which is in nobody’s best interests as we approach a challenging winter.

"Our economic circumstances mean unions’ demands are not affordable - each additional 1% pay rise for all staff on the Agenda for Change contract would cost around £700 million a year.

"We’ve prioritised the NHS with record funding and accepted the independent pay review body recommendations in full to give over one million NHS workers a pay rise of at least £1,400 this year, with those on the lowest salaries receiving an increase of up to 9.3%.

"This is on top of 3% last year when public sector pay was frozen and wider government support with the cost of living.

"Our priority is keeping patients safe during any strikes and the NHS has tried and tested plans to minimise disruption and ensure emergency services continue to operate.

"My door remains open to discuss with the unions ways we can make the NHS a better place to work."

NHS Braced For Winter Of Discontent As Ambulance Workers Join Nurses On Strike


Unison members voted to walk out before Christmas in a dispute over pay.


Kevin Schofield
30/11/2022

Ambulance workers have voted to strike next month.
DOMINIC LIPINSKI VIA PA WIRE/PA IMAGES

Ambulance workers across England are set to strike before Christmas after voting in favour of industrial action over pay and staffing levels.

The announcement by Unison came just hours after it was confirmed that up to 100,000 nursing staff will also walk out in December after rejecting a government pay offer.

Health secretary Steve Barclay has said their demands are “unaffordable”.

Unison said thousands of 999 call handlers, ambulance technicians, paramedics and their colleagues working for ambulance services in the north east, north west, London, Yorkshire and the south west are to go on strike.

Christina McAnea, the union’s general secretary, said: “The decision to take action and lose a day’s pay is always a tough call. It’s especially challenging for those whose jobs involve caring and saving lives.

“But thousands of ambulance staff and their NHS colleagues know delays won’t lessen, nor waiting times reduce, until the Government acts on wages. That’s why they’ve taken the difficult decision to strike.

“Patients will always come first and emergency cover will be available during any strike. But unless NHS pay and staffing get fixed, services and care will continue to decline.

“The public knows health services won’t improve without huge increases in staffing and wants the government to pay up to save the NHS.”

Meanwhile, members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will take industrial action on December 15 and 20.

It is the first time nurses have gone on strike in the RCN’s 100-year history.

In Scotland, the RCN has paused announcing strike action after the Scottish government reopened NHS pay negotiations.

Responding to the result of the ambulance workers’ ballot, health secretary Steve Barclay said: “I’m hugely grateful for the hard work and dedication of NHS staff and deeply regret some will be taking industrial action – which is in nobody’s best interests as we approach a challenging winter.

″Our economic circumstances mean unions’ demands are not affordable.

“We’ve prioritised the NHS with record funding and accepted the independent pay review body recommendations in full to give over one million NHS workers a pay rise of at least £1,400 this year, with those on the lowest salaries receiving an increase of up to 9.3%.

“This is on top of 3% last year when public sector pay was frozen and wider government support with the cost of living.

“Our priority is keeping patients safe during any strikes and the NHS has tried and tested plans to minimise disruption and ensure emergency services continue to operate.

:My door remains open to discuss with the unions ways we can make the NHS a better place to work.”


Ambulance workers in GMB and Unite unions vote to strike in pay dispute

The Health Secretary said the demands from unions are not affordable.



The GMB said 10,000 of its ambulance members backed walkouts across nine trusts in England and Wale
s (Victoria Jones/PA) / PA Archive

By Alan Jones
2 hours ago

Ambulance workers in two more unions have voted to strike over pay, raising the prospect of widespread industrial action before Christmas.

The GMB said 10,000 of its ambulance members backed walkouts across nine trusts in England and Wales.

Unite later announced its NHS members in England, including ambulance staff, paramedics and other NHS workers, had also voted to strike.

Unison reported on Tuesday that its NHS members had voted to strike.

Members of the Royal College of Nursing are staging two strikes later in December while other NHS workers including midwives and physiotherapists are voting on industrial action.


More than 10,000 ambulance workers vote to strike over pay


This is as much about unsafe staffing levels and patient safety as it is about pay. A third of GMB ambulance workers think delays they’ve been involved with have led to the death of a patient

The GMB said its members working as paramedics, emergency care assistants, call handlers and other staff are set to walk out in the following trusts: South West Ambulance Service, South East Coast Ambulance Service, North West Ambulance Service, South Central Ambulance Service, North East Ambulance Service, East Midlands Ambulance Service, West Midlands Ambulance ServiceWelsh Ambulance Service and Yorkshire Ambulance Service.

The GMB said workers across the ambulance services and some NHS trusts have voted to strike over the Government’s 4% pay award, which it described as another “massive real-terms pay cut”.

The union will meet with reps in the coming days to discuss potential strike dates before Christmas.

Rachel Harrison, GMB national secretary, said: “Ambulance workers – like other NHS workers – are on their knees.

“Demoralised and downtrodden, they’ve faced 12 years of Conservative cuts to the service and their pay packets, fought on the front line of a global pandemic and now face the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation.

“No-one in the NHS takes strike action lightly – today shows just how desperate they are.

“This is as much about unsafe staffing levels and patient safety as it is about pay. A third of GMB ambulance workers think delays they’ve been involved with have led to the death of a patient.x

“GMB calls on the Government to avoid a winter of NHS strikes by negotiating a pay award that these workers deserve.”

The news follows an announcement by Unison on Tuesday that thousands of 999 call handlers, ambulance technicians, paramedics and their colleagues working for ambulance services in the North East, North West, London, Yorkshire and the South West are to be called out on strike over pay and staffing levels after voting in favour of industrial action.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “We will not sit back and watch as this Government runs down our health service. This strike vote reflects the fact that ambulance staff, dedicated professionals to their core, have been left with no choice but to take a stand for the very future of the NHS itself and they have Unite’s 100% support.

“Make no mistake, what the Government is doing is a deliberate act of national self-harm. This is a political choice that the Government knows will put the NHS on life support.

“They know exactly what to do to avert these strikes. It begins with urgently getting around the table with the NHS unions to address the crisis in staff and pay levels. There is absolutely no point having make-believe plans for the NHS if you have no staff left.”

Unite members in the ambulance service said that many category one and category two calls are not meeting with a response.

Unite member George Dusher, who voted yes for action, said: “It’s carnage at the moment – the worst I’ve ever seen it. People are ringing for an ambulance and are then stuck waiting on the floor for ten hours because we can’t get to them. We’re not getting to cardiac arrests quickly enough because of delays.

“I used to see up to 10 patients during a shift, now it’s just three or four because of the delays in hospital admissions.

“Paramedics get into debt to train for this job, but the pay is too low and the stress is too high. It used to be that you’d leave half an hour after shift. Now it is one, two or even three hours. It’s too much and people are leaving.”

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: “I’m hugely grateful for the hard work and dedication of NHS staff and deeply regret some will be taking industrial action – which is in nobody’s best interests as we approach a challenging winter.

With strikes by nurses and ambulance workers looming, trusts are rightly worried about the potential for co-ordinated and prolonged industrial action in the coming months

“Our economic circumstances mean unions’ demands are not affordable – each additional 1% pay rise for all staff on the Agenda for Change contract would cost around £700 million a year.

“We’ve prioritised the NHS with record funding and accepted the independent pay review body recommendations in full to give over one million NHS workers a pay rise of at least £1,400 this year, with those on the lowest salaries receiving an increase of up to 9.3%.

“This is on top of 3% last year when public-sector pay was frozen and wider government support with the cost of living.

“Our priority is keeping patients safe during any strikes and the NHS has tried and tested plans to minimise disruption and ensure emergency services continue to operate.

“My door remains open to discuss with the unions ways we can make the NHS a better place to work.”

The interim chief executive of NHS Providers, Saffron Cordery, said: “Trust leaders have been preparing for strikes, including the possibility of industrial action by different groups of NHS staff, and trusts affected will do everything in their power to keep disruption to a minimum.

“But with strikes by nurses and ambulance workers looming, trusts are rightly worried about the potential for co-ordinated and prolonged industrial action in the coming months.

“We understand why staff are voting for industrial action but it’s vital that the Government and unions talk urgently to find a way to prevent strikes which nobody wants to see.

“Trust leaders remain committed to ensuring the safe delivery of care and supporting the wellbeing of staff throughout any industrial action.”


UK
Strikes by Royal Mail workers, Lecturers and teachers being solidly supported


Royal Mail workers, university lecturers and sixth form college staff went on strike on Wednesday, reporting strong support from the public as they mounted scores of picket lines across the country.

It was one of the biggest walkouts in a year dominated by industrial unrest, with more stoppages planned in the coming weeks by railway staff, NHS workers and bus drivers.

Members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) are also planning seven more strikes in December, including on Christmas Eve.

The union said its members will be in London on December 9 for the “biggest strike demonstration this country has ever seen”.

The CWU, National Education Union (NEU) and University and College Union (UCU) said Wednesday’s action was being solidly backed by their members, who were receiving messages of support from members of the public.

NEU teacher members who work in 77 sixth form colleges in England went on strike after the union said they have suffered a real-terms pay cut of an estimated 20% since 2010.

Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the NEU, told the PA news agency from a picket line in Islington, North London: “I’m here to support the NEU members who are taking industrial action against the decimation of their terms, their pay, their working conditions and the funding for sixth form colleges, which will be less in 2025 than it was in 2005 in real terms.

“They have seen their pay decline by 24%, courses are being axed, support services in the college being axed, pastoral services – a whole range of services which enable them to teach effectively have been axed because of the terrible funding.

“This is a government that talks about growth but deliberately underfunds a sector which is the absolute bedrock of growth particularly in terms of skills.”

The UCU followed up a 48-hour strike last week with a 24-hour stoppage among university staff and is holding a rally in London.

General secretary Jo Grady said: “University staff are prepared to do whatever it takes to win decent pay, secure employment and fair pensions, and vice chancellors need to understand that they cannot simply ride this out. Students and staff are united like never before.

“At the national rally in London, the entire movement will show it is behind UCU’s campaign to save higher education. It is clear those who run our universities are becoming increasingly isolated.

“Our union is ready to deliver more industrial action next year, but avoiding that is entirely the responsibility of employers who have this week to make an improved offer. The ball is in their court.”

UCU members at the University of Sheffield International College are on strike for three days, ending on Wednesday, in a long-running dispute over low pay.

The union says the action is the first strike to take place in a privatised higher education provider.

CWU general secretary Dave Ward said: “Royal Mail bosses are risking a Christmas meltdown because of their stubborn refusal to treat their employees with respect.”

Mark Dolan, London divisional representative for the CWU said outside the Royal Mail Islington Delivery Office in north London: “This is our 11th day of strike action and the action we are taking today is about saving this Great British institution, 500 years’ service that we give to the public, and also the destruction of our terms and conditions.

“The company, following Covid, made over £700 million and they made that money off the backs of our membership who during Covid put their own lives on the line connecting the country, delivering test kits and we were hailed as key workers during Covid.

“And yet, 18 months later, the company have announced they have got no money. They gave most of the profits away to shareholders and the people who sit on the board of Royal Mail.

“We’re not prepared to stand by and watch this great public service tuned into another gig economy service where they want to get rid of the current workforce and replace them with workers on 20% less money and less terms and conditions than we currently have.”

A Royal Mail spokesman said: “The CWU is striking at our busiest time, holding Christmas to ransom for our customers, businesses and families across the country.

“We apologise to our customers and strongly urge them to post early for Christmas.

“We are proud to have the best pay and conditions in our industry. In an industry dominated by the ‘gig economy’, insecure work and low pay, our model sets us apart and we want to preserve it.

“Despite losing more than £1 million a day, we have made a best and final pay offer worth up to 9%. Strike action has already cost our people £1,000 each and is putting more jobs at risk.

“The money allocated to the pay deal should be going to our people, but it risks being eaten away by the costs of further strike action.

“We once again urge the CWU to call off strike action. We remain available to meet to discuss our best and final offer.”

Tens of thousands of striking Royal Mail workers, lecturers and teachers hit the streets


People take part in a rally outside the Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh, as members of the University and College Union (UCU) take part 24-hour stoppage among university staff in an ongoing dispute over pay, pensions and conditions


TENS of thousands of underpaid Royal Mail workers, university lecturers and sixth form college staff walked out today in one of the biggest strike days of 2022’s year of industrial unrest.

Picket lines nationwide saw strong support from the public as the fightback against more than a decade of Tory austerity pay and attacks on working conditions and pensions gathers pace.

Railway workers are set to continue their six-month industrial action with a series of 48-hour strikes over the next two months, while NHS staff and ambulance workers could down tools across England, Wales and Northern Ireland in the run-up to Christmas.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU), which has scheduled seven more 24-hour strikes at Royal Mail, including on Christmas Eve, also announced that its members will converge on London on December 9 for the “biggest strike demonstration this country has ever seen.”

The event is needed because of a “stubborn refusal by bosses to treat their employers with respect,” general secretary Dave Ward stressed.

The union’s London division rep Mark Dolan added that the dispute is about “saving this Great British institution, the 500 years’ service given to the public and also the destruction of our terms and conditions.

“The company has made over £700 million off the backs of our membership, who during Covid put their own lives on the line connecting the country — we were hailed as key workers.

“And yet, 18 months later, the company have announced they have got no money. They gave most of the profits away to shareholders and the people who sit on the board.”

Mr Dolan stressed that members are “not prepared to stand by and watch this great public institution turned into another gig economy service where they get rid of the current workforce and replace them with workers on 20 per cent less money and worse terms and conditions.”

The action coincided with teaching staff, represented by the National Education Union (NEU), going on strike at 77 sixth-form colleges across England after suffering a real-terms pay cut of a whopping 20 per cent since 2010.

Addressing a picket line in Islington, north London, joint general secretary Dr Mary Bousted warned about the “decimation of worker terms, pay, working conditions and the funding for sixth form colleges, which in real terms will be less in 2025 than it was in 2005.

“This is a government that talks about growth but deliberately underfunds a sector which is the absolute bedrock of growth, particularly in terms of skills,” she charged.

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who also addressed the rally, ridiculed the Daily Mail for echoing claims by bosses that strikers want to “destroy Christmas” before calling for all workers to “pull together” and resist further attacks.

The University and College Union followed up a national 48-hour strike by lecturers last week with another 24-hour walkout.

General secretary Jo Grady said: “University staff are prepared to do whatever it takes to win decent pay, secure employment and fair pensions, and vice-chancellors need to understand that they cannot simply ride this out.

“Students and staff are united like never before,” she warned.

“Our union is ready to deliver more industrial action next year, but avoiding that is entirely the responsibility of employers who have to make an improved offer — the ball is in their court.”


MORNINGSTAR

UK

Royal Mail workers begin fresh 48-hour strike

  • PublishedShare
IMAGE SOURCE,

Postal workers at Royal Mail have begun a fresh 48-hour strike in a row over pay and conditions.

It is the latest in a series of walkouts involving 115,000 workers and will hit deliveries across the UK.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents the workers, says it wants a pay rise that matches the soaring cost of living.

Royal Mail says it has made a revised pay offer but "no talks are happening".

Postal workers walked out on Thursday and Friday last week, and another wave of strikes is planned in the run-up to Christmas - on 9, 11, 14, 15, 23 and 24 December.

Clara Challoner Walker, who runs the Cosy Cottage Soap Company in Malton, Yorkshire, said the strikes were having a "significant impact" on her business.

Image caption,
Clara Challoner Walker says the strikes are having a big impact on her business

She uses Royal Mail because it is too expensive to send her relatively small soap and skincare orders via courier companies.

She said the strikes could really damage the business during the "critical" Christmas trading period, when it makes most of its profits for the year.

"There will be consequences and we will have to take a hit, we can't up our prices to enable us to send things by courier," Ms Challoner Walker told the BBC.

"We do feel sympathy for the [Royal Mail workers]. But I would question the union bosses as to whether striking at this time of year... is achieving what they are looking to achieve."

On strike days Royal Mail will not be able to deliver first and second class letters, but will deliver as many parcels and Special Delivery letters as possible.

The dispute began this summer after Royal Mail rejected union demands for a pay rise that matched inflation - the rate at which prices rises - which is currently 11.1%.

The union also objects to proposed changes to working conditions, such as ending a number of allowances and the introduction of compulsory Sunday working.

Royal Mail has since offered a pay deal that it says is worth up to 9% over 18 months, calling it its "best and final offer".

But the CWU said that offer represented a "devastating blow" to postal workers' livelihoods and urged the public to "stand with their postie".

Mark Dolan, London divisional representative for the CWU, said: "This is our 11th day of strike action and the action we are taking today is about saving this great British institution.

"We're not prepared to stand by and watch this great public service tuned into another gig economy service where they want to get rid of the current workforce and replace them with workers on 20% less money and less terms and conditions than we currently have."

Image caption,
Sam Smith says the strikes create a "customer service headache"

Sam Smith runs Pot Gang, which sells grow-your-own vegetable and herb kits online. The firm uses Royal Mail to send hundreds of boxes to customers every day, but he said it used more expensive courier companies on strike days to prevent deliveries being delayed.

"The general public generally aren't too forgiving when it comes to [late] deliveries," he told the BBC. "It creates a bit of a customer service headache for us."

Mr Smith said he sympathised with the striking workers but that "ultimately Royal Mail is a business and has to deal with businesses".

"We need to know that things will be arriving reliably and on time for a fair price [this Christmas]," he added.

What does Royal Mail say?

Royal Mail has been struggling as it moves from its traditional business of delivering letters - which is no longer profitable - to the fast-growing world of parcel deliveries.

The company faces fierce competition from courier companies and is losing around a million pounds a day. It said the strikes have added £100m to its losses, and has announced plans to cut up to 10,000 jobs.

As well as improving its offer to workers, Royal Mail says it has promised more generous redundancy terms and a profit-sharing scheme.

Earlier this month, it asked the government to allow it to stop letter deliveries on Saturdays as it reported a sharp loss for the first half of the year.

It wants to move from a six-days-a-week letter delivery to five, from Monday to Friday only. However, parcel services would continue to run all days of the week.


BBC Breakfast viewers rage over 'car crash' interview with Royal Mail boss who says his workers will 'ruin Christmas'

Royal Mail workers are on strike today and tomorrow



Seren Hughes
Reporter 30 NOV 2022

Simon Thompson, Chief Executive Officer of Royal Mail, spoke to BBC Breakfast. Credit: BBC



BBC Breakfast viewers raged over a 'car crash' interview with a Royal Mail boss who said strikers will 'ruin Christmas'. Royal Mail Chief Executive Simon Thompson was on the show this morning as strikes are underway at Royal Mail.

Mr Thompson said: "We are doing everything we can to protect Christmas, while the Communication Workers Union (CWU) leadership are doing everything they can to destroy Christmas."


Pushed on the question of whether he turned up to the last stage of talks, Mr Thompson dodged the question, instead saying: "Well I think that is not true. We had three weeks of talks which I was very involved with including over the weekend."

READ MORE: Full list of train, bus, nurse, ambulance and Royal Mail strikes before Christmas

Royal Mail workers are on strike today (Image: PA)

He continued: "We have put our final offer to the CWU. We made 11 concessions based on the feedback from our team. I am available at any time at all to make sure that we can discuss exact content of that to make sure its understood. I would encourage the CWU to pause."

Viewers weren't impressed with the Royal Mail boss's response, with many branding his interview a 'car crash' which showed 'the very worst face of corporate greed'

One viewer wrote: "Simon Thompson playing games on #BBCBreakfast brandishing pieces of paper and using ridiculously over the top statements about ‘ruining Christmas’. No wonder the #CWU don’t trust the bosses."


Another said: "If Simon Thompson can't even attend a meeting with the CWU then he needs to resign. He's demonstrated a complete lack of leadership. #ResignSimonThompson"

A third added: "Unbelievable, Simon Thompson the RM chief Is on bbc saying the @CWUnews are out to destroy Christmas while the Royal Mail are trying to save it! Roll on the propaganda…#StandByYourPost #BBCBreakfast #GeneralStrikeNow"

A fourth commented: "As an ex-employee of Royal Mail, Simon Thompson's performance on #BBCBreakfast has made me support the CWU strike even more. What a slimy, nasty, vile man."

Royal Mail workers are on strike today (November 30), tomorrow (Thursday, December 1) and next week on December 9 and December 11 over pay and conditions. MyLondon has approached the Royal Mail for comment.

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