Public sector strike to be 'largest for a generation'
Public sector workers are staging a strike over pensions in what unions say is set to be the biggest walkout for a generation.
Schools, hospitals, courts and government offices around the UK are among services being disrupted, as more than 1,000 demonstrations take place.
The chancellor urged more talks, saying strikes would not achieve anything.
Unions object to government plans to make their members pay more and work longer to earn their pensions.
The strike is having the following effects:
- The Department of Education says it is expecting 13% of state-funded schools in England, including academies and free schools, to open and 13% to be partially open. The status of 16% of schools is unknown
- In Scotland, 30 of the 2,700 council-run schools are believed to be open, says local authority body Cosla
- Plane arrivals and take-offs at Britain's two biggest airports - Heathrow and Gatwick - are largely unaffected with only a few cancellations of in-bound transatlantic flights to Heathrow
- Heathrow operator BAA, and its busiest carrier, British Airways, have both reported near normal services, with queues at immigration no longer than usual
- At Heathrow, the 10 EU desks at Terminal 3's immigration services are being manned by a mix of Home Office staff and police officers who have been trained. Five non-EU desks are open as airport sources suggest immigration controls are at two-thirds of normal staffing levels
- In Northern Ireland, no bus or train services will be operating and two-thirds of schools and colleges will be closed
- Unions estimate about 300,000 public sector workers are on strike in Scotland while 170,000 workers in Wales are taking action
- NHS managers say contingency measures have been put in place to protect services such as A&E units, cancer treatment and end-of-life care
- In England, the government estimates about 400,000 nurses and healthcare assistants, paramedics, physiotherapists and support staff like cleaners and administrators are joining the action. It says about 60,000 non-urgent operations, out-patient appointments, tests and follow-up appointments have been postponed
- BBC News Channel's chief political correspondent Norman Smith tweeted: "(Health Secretary) Andrew Lansley says patients who have ops cancelled today will still be seen within 18-week limit."
- London Ambulance Service tells BBC London it is "struggling" and said people not in a life-threatening condition may not get an ambulance while South East Coast Ambulance Service says it is now only responding to "life-threatening emergencies"
- In Scotland, at least 3,000 operations and thousands more hospital appointments are affected
- Union leaders say although court staff are taking action, the trial of two men accused of killing of teenager Stephen Lawrence will not be disrupted
- The BBC's Ross Hawkins tweeted that strike placards had been seen outside the Royal Courts of Justice but said the Leveson Inquiry is going ahead as planned
- BBC political correspondent Mike Sergeant tweeted: "Union official outside HMRC in Whitehall predicting 70% of those who work in the building will strike."
'Negotiating table'
Unions say up to two million public sector workers are to take part in the strike.
Speaking from Brussels, Chancellor George Osborne told BBC Breakfast: "The strike is not going to achieve anything, it's not going to change anything. It is only going to make our economy weaker and potentially cost jobs."
He said unions should be holding talks with the government to resolve the pension dispute, rather than taking strike action.
He added that without making difficult choices about dealing with the UK's debts the country "would be bankrupt".
Labour leader Ed Miliband said he had "huge sympathy" for people whose lives are disrupted by the strike.
But he said he was "not going to condemn the dinner ladies, nurses, teachers who have made the decision to go on strike because they feel they have been put in an impossible position by a government that has refused to negotiate properly".
Shadow chancellor Ed Balls told BBC Breakfast the pensions row should have been resolved by the government.
Liberal Democrat Party president Tim Farron told the BBC News Channel the unions were wrong to strike because workers on low to middle incomes would get a "better, or certainly no worse" pension when they retire than is currently the case.
Earlier on Tuesday, union leaders reacted angrily to Mr Osborne's Autumn Statement announcements of a public sector pay cap of 1% for two years, as well as bringing forward to 2026 the rise in the state pension age to 67.
'Failure to negotiate'
Unison general secretary Dave Prentis told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme that industrial action by his union was rare but public sector workers "were annoyed". Millions of workers - mainly low-paid women - were being unfairly affected by changes to pensions, he said.
"That is when people say enough is enough," he added.
Mr Prentis said the last time unions met the Treasury ministers was 2 November, adding "this idea that negotiations are continuing is just not true."
However Cabinet Minister Francis Maude disputed this claim, saying formal discussions with the civil service unions happened on Tuesday and that talks will take place with teaching unions on Thursday and with health unions on Friday.
Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC, said the public sector was "under attack" by the government, adding that the action was justified.
"With the scale of change the government are trying to force through, making people work much, much longer and get much, much less, that's the call people have made," he said.
Paul Noon, leader of civil service union Prospect, said members felt the chancellor was "aiming yet another punch at them".
Courts, job centres, driving tests and council services, such as libraries, community centres and refuse collections have been affected by the strike.
Education Secretary Michael Gove has said it is "unfair and unrealistic" to expect taxpayers to foot the growing public sector pensions bill.
Schools Minister Nick Gibb told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme: "We have to be fair to all taxpayers not just those who work in the public sector. If we're going to sustain these kind of high quality pensions in the long run there does have to be reform."
Contingency plans
Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union members who work for the UK Border Agency have gone on strike however airport sources suggested to the BBC that immigration controls are at two thirds of normal staffing levels - more than the 30-50% predicted previously.
The government has said no border controls will be relaxed to ease queues.
Gatwick's chief operating officer Scott Stanley said: "Whilst passengers have so far not experienced delays at the border zones we do expect delays to occur at some point today as the rate of arriving flights increases."
Weather forecasting staff at the Met Office, catering staff in the House of Commons and museum curators are also among those due to walk out on Wednesday.
Simon Walker, of the Institute of Directors, told the BBC News Channel the strike was doing "significant damage" to the economy.
"If you're damaging the productive capacity of this country you're really doing huge damage to the fabric of the economy and that will last a long time and impact on all of us," he said.
Source-BBC
Britain Withdraws Some Diplomats from Iran After Embassy Assaults
Britain says it is withdrawing some of its embassy staff from Iran following Tuesday's mob assaults on British diplomatic compounds in the capital, Tehran.
In a statement Wednesday, the British foreign office says the safety of British embassy personnel and their families is London's immediate priority. It did not say how many staff are leaving Iran or when.
Western diplomats told the French news agency that the first group of British evacuees were at Tehran's airport Wednesday, waiting to be flown to Dubai.
British Prime Minister David Cameron said Tuesday Iran faces "serious consequences" for failing to defend the British compounds from Islamists who barged into them as police looked on. The protesters chanted "Death to Britain" as they smashed windows of the main embassy building, threw documents outside and set fire to a car. Another group of Iranians stormed a British diplomatic complex in northern Tehran. The assaults followed followed Britain's decision to impose new economic sanctions against Iran over its alleged nuclear weapons program
The attacks drew more international criticism Wednesday. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's office said he expressed shock and outrage as he met with a British official on the sidelines of an aid conference in Busan, South Korea. The U.N. chief called on Iran to investigate the British embassy break-in and take measures to avoid any repetition there or at other diplomatic missions.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, also in Busan, strongly condemned the assaults as an "affront not only to the British people but also to the international community." She said Washington expects Iran to protect the lives and properties of diplomats in accordance with international conventions.
The Iranian protesters were angry about Britain's decision to cut business dealings with all Iranian banks as part of coordinated sanctions with the United States and Canada announced last week. The Western powers said the sanctions were a response to Iran's pursuit of a nuclear program that U.N. experts say appears designed to build nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful.
Iran's parliament responded to the British sanctions on Sunday by approving a measure to reduce diplomatic and economic ties with Britain.
The U.N. Security Council issued a statement condemning the embassy assaults on Tuesday.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
Biden Says US Pullout from Iraq Marks New Phase in Relations
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has told Iraqi leaders in Baghdad that the two countries are embarking on a “new path” as the United States prepares to complete a troop pullout by the end of December.
Biden was speaking Wednesday in a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The vice president said the United States is keeping its promise under a 2008 agreement with Iraq to withdraw U.S. forces before an end-of-2011 deadline. The pullout will end a military presence that began with the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled former dictator Saddam Hussein.
The U.S. military has about 13,000 troops remaining in Iraq. Biden told Mr. Maliki that the completion of that pullout is in the best interests of the United States and Iraq and will mark a new phase in a relationship between “two sovereign nations.”
The vice president also said the U.S. and Iraqi governments will build the relationship by cooperating on security issues such as training, intelligence and counter-terrorism. U.S.-Iraqi negotiations on allowing some U.S. trainers to remain in Iraq beyond the deadline failed earlier this year because of a dispute about whether such trainers would have immunity from Iraqi law.
The visit is Biden's eighth to Iraq since taking office in 2009. He also was due to attend a ceremony commemorating the sacrifices of U.S. and Iraqi troops in the eight-year-long conflict. Violence in Iraq has declined from the peak of sectarian fighting in 2006 and 2007, but insurgent attacks remain common.
In the latest violence, Iraqi officials say gunmen killed five people in a raid on a home in the central city of Samarra late Tuesday. The dead include a man, his wife, son and two other people who were in the house. The motive for the attack was not clear.
Turkey Imposes Asset Freeze, Other Sanctions on Syrian Leaders
Turkey says it is freezing the assets of Syrian leaders and taking other steps to pressure them into stopping a deadly government crackdown on an eight-month pro-democracy uprising.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced the sanctions in a news conference Wednesday. The measures include cutting off links with Syria's central bank, banning the delivery of weapons to the country and suspending the two neighbors' strategic cooperation agreement.
Turkey had been a close friend of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government prior to the start of the uprising in March. Davutoglu said that regime now has come to the “end of the road.”
Turkey's decision to impose sanctions on Syria follows the Arab League's approval of unprecedented financial and political penalties against Damascus on Sunday. Only Iraq and Lebanon refused to support the measures, leaving the Syrian government increasingly isolated in the region.
Syrian Information Minister Adnan Mahmoud said Tuesday the country is self-sufficient and has a stockpile of food and basic supplies to withstand the sanctions.
Turkey said Tuesday it may shift its Middle East trade routes to go through Iraq – cutting out Syria as a transit country if unrest there worsens and embargoes against Damascus go into effect.
Onetime allies Turkey and Syria abolished visa requirements in 2009 and had planned to raise their trade volume from the current $2.5 billion to $5 billion in 2012.
Also Tuesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Ankara may set up a buffer zone along its border with Syria in coordination with the international community if hundreds of thousands of people attempt to flee the unrest there for Turkey.
The United Nations says violence related to the uprising has killed at least 3,500 people, mostly civilians.
Syria has refused to end the crackdown, calling it a necessary response to attacks by “armed terrorists” on civilians and security personnel.
Egypt’s Islamists Await Election Gains, Challenge Military Rule
Egypt's powerful Muslim Brotherhood says the high turnout for parliamentary elections indicates a popular demand for civilian control, challenging the country's military rulers as Islamist parties prepared to dominate the freest polls in living memory.
Media reports indicate the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice party has secured more than 40 percent of the vote after counting so far. Ultra-conservative Salafist groups also are expected to score major gains in Egypt's second city, Alexandria.
Partial results are expected later Wednesday, with runoff votes for some parliamentary seats to be held next week. Full tallies for the lower house will not be announced until January, after two more rounds of voting in the rest of the country. The entire election will not be over until March.
Authorities said turnout likely exceeded 70 percent in the nine of 27 Egyptian provinces that have voted so far in the first elections since a popular uprising forced President Hosni Mubarak to resign in February.
Freedom and Justice party leaders said Egypt's new parliamentary majority should form the next government and choose the prime minister. They said the high turnout Monday and Tuesday showed that voters want parliament to have that power, not the generals.
But Egypt's ruling military council has said the newly elected legislature would not have the authority to dismiss their latest appointment, Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri, or his government.
The embattled military chiefs hailed round one as a success, claiming the high turnout meant protesters camped in Cairo's Tahrir Square and those demonstrating elsewhere do not represent most Egyptians.
Security officials said about 80 people were hurt late Tuesday when clashes erupted between angry street venders and activists who attempted to evict them from the square. The masses that once demonstrated in Tahrir have dwindled to a few thousand and talks are underway among youth groups to leave the area.
Many Egyptians were worried the elections would see widespread violence between rival supporters. Instead, the vote won international praise.
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon congratulated Egyptians for what he called their enthusiastic participation at the ballot box. U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner calls the voting peaceful and a success.
But the chief of Egypt's National Human Rights Council, Hazem Mounir, said the voting process is confusing, blaming it on what he called a weak legal framework for elections and no independent election commission.
Nine days of clashes between protesters and police leading up to the elections killed 42 people and left more than 3,000 injured.
The historic elections will determine whether Egypt moves down a more Islamic path after nearly 60 years as an authoritarian secular state essentially run by the military.
Haitian president faces renewed pressure for Duvalier trial
The administration is facing renewed pressure to bring former dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier to justice for human rights abuses committed under his regime.
Some 16 Canadian organizations under the grouping Concertation pour Haiti (CPH) have written to President Michel Martelly demanding a “just and fair” trial for the former dictator.
“We are also aware that to complete a just and fair trial against Jean-Claude Duvalier and other officials under his command is a huge challenge for the Haitian judicial system,” the group wrote.
“We are convinced that can be met with technical support from the international community. If the Haitian authorities send a request to this effect to the government and civil society of Canada, the Concertation pour Haiti will (put) pressure so that an adequate response would be given.”
Many individuals and groups, including Amnesty International, have criticised the pace of investigations following Duvalier’s return to Haiti in January this year after 25 years in exile.
CPH, in its letter to the president, asked that the government publicly state that it would not interfere in the work of the judicial authorities.
It said this would “lead to the end of thorough and impartial investigations into the violations committed during Duvalier’s 1971 and 1986 rule.”
“Hold a just and fair trial, would be bring justice to the thousands of victims of Duvalierism and restore confidence in a Haitian justice system strengthened. On the contrary, put an end to the process would confirm the idea that there is no justice in Haiti, even for the worst crimes,” the group said.
“We recognize that moving forward is a difficult decision and that many reasons, sometimes of noble appearance, may be invoked to avoid it. But there is no possible escape, because the history has shown that for a genuine reconciliation and national agreement worthy of the name, it is necessary to go through the path of truth, justice and reparation.”
The letter is signed by Amnesty International Canada (french section), Quebec Association of International Cooperation Organizations, Faith and Justice Centre, and United Church of Canada among other groups.
Caribbean 360 News
American Airlines files for Ch. 11 protection
American Airlines' parent company is seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as it seeks to unload massive debt built up by years of accelerating jet fuel prices and labor struggles.
The nation's third largest airline also said its CEO Gerard Arpey will step down. He's being replaced by Thomas Horton, currently the company's president.
Fort Worth, Texas-based AMR Corp., along with its regional affiliate AMR Eagle Holding Corp. said Tuesday that they filed voluntary petitions to reorganize.
American says it sought protection to reduce its costs and debt to remain competitive.
The airline says it will continue normal flight operations during the reorganization.
American was the only major U.S. airline that didn't file for bankruptcy protection after the 2001 terrorist attacks. The last major airline to file for bankruptcy protection was Delta in 2005.
American says labor-contract rules force it to spend at least $600 million more than other airlines.
Besides higher labor costs, American also struggled with rising jet fuel costs. Jet fuel cost an average of $3 per gallon so far this year — a record according to government data that goes back to 1990. Jet fuel is more expensive now than the average of $2.96 per gallon in 2008, when oil rose above $147 per barrel for the first time. It's risen 56.4 percent in the past five years. The average price of jet fuel was $1.92 per gallon in 2006.
American lost $162 million in the third quarter and has lost money in 14 of the last 16 quarters.
Historic general elections underway in two Caricom countries
Stephenson King is for the first time seeking his own mandate to become the prime minister of St Lucia, while in Guyana, the ruling People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) is aiming to extend its 19-year government rule.
The historic elections are taking place today in both countries – the first time polls are being held on the same day in two Caricom states, according to reports.
King, the United Workers Party (UWP) leader, was appointed in 2007 following the death of former Prime Minister Sir John Compton.
He is being challenged by Kenny Anthony of the St Lucia Labour Party (SLP) which was defeated at the 2006 polls.
Overall, five political parties are contesting the election in which more than 151,000 people are registered to vote. Only the UWP and the SLP are fielding full slates of candidates.
Meanwhile, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) said all systems were in place for today’s polls.
“We are ready, GECOM is ready to carry out that mandate that was given to us by the state,” GECOM Chairman Dr. Steve Surujbally stated.
More than 475, 000 nationals are eligible to vote at 2,075 polling stations across the country.
The incumbent PPPC is being challenged by the Alliance for Change (AFC) and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU).
Observer missions from the Caribbean Community, the Organization of American States and the Commonwealth Secretariat are monitoring the two general elections.
Caribbean 360 News
OAS electoral mission in Saint Lucia deploys observers
The General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) and Saint Lucia’s Electoral Commission signed the agreement on the electoral observation process of the 2011 general elections in Saint Lucia on Friday.
At the ceremony, which took place in the Electoral Department of Saint Lucia, Dr Rosina Wiltshire, chief of mission, thanked the government of St Lucia for the invitation to observe the election. She highlighted that the OAS mission is committed to support the country in deepening the democratic process through ensuring peaceful, fair and transparent elections.
On behalf of Saint Lucia’s Electoral Commission, Kenneth Monplaisir, chair of the Electoral Department, welcomed the team of observers and provided them all the guarantees to grant access to all aspects of the electoral process.
The agreement stated that the electoral observation missions shall be carried out at the request of the member state concerned and should be carried out in accordance with the principles and norms of the OAS. The Organization shall ensure that these missions are effective and independent and shall provide them with the necessary resources for that purpose. They shall be conducted in an objective, impartial, and transparent manner and with the appropriate technical expertise, among other things.
The members of the OAS electoral observation mission have initiated their work in the country with meetings with key stakeholders and will be deployed throughout the territory on Monday. The OAS/EOM is composed of 14 observers coming from 8 countries (Barbados, Bolivia, Canada, Colombia, Guatemala, St Vincent, United States, Venezuela). The Mission received financial contributions from Bolivia, Chile, the United States of America and the United Kingdom.
Caribbean News Now
CHINA DEAL DELAYED IN CAYMAN
Premier McKeeva Bush yesterday announced extension of the memorandum of understanding with infrastructure giant China Harbour Engineering Company until 31 March next year.
The agreement, originally due to be completed by tomorrow, 30 November, has now been delayed four months while the Cayman Islands government, accounting firm KPMG and London’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) scrutinise its terms.
In a brief three-paragraph statement yesterday, the Office of the Premier said the work was ”detailed and complex” and, in the wake of last week’s London signing of the Framework for Fiscal Responsibility, both Mr Bush and the Port Authority of the Cayman Islands (PACI) would “formulate a business case and a value-for-money proposition for development of the George Town cruise-port project.
The framework, sought by FCO Minister for Overseas Territories Henry Bellingham, required strict accounting for all capital construction projects, seeking ”effective risk management and improved accountability in all public-sector operations” as well as better financial planning.
Saying that limits on borrowing “cannot reasonably be achieved in the short term”, Mr Bellingham hoped the framework “would return the public finances of the Caymans Islands to a sustainable footing” by next summer
In yesterday’s announcement, Mr Bush said he and PACI would “formulate a business case and a value-for-money proposition for development of the George Town cruise-port project.
“[Mr Bush] further advised” Mr Bellingham, the statement said, “that KPMG had been contacted by PACI from August 2011 to carry out this exercise and the work has been ongoing.”
As a result, “the current MOU will be extended beyond its expiry date of 30 November, 2011. The Cayman Islands government, PACI and China Harbour Engineering Company have agreed to extend their MOU to 31st March, 2012,” the statement said.
The premier also faces a 30 November deadline for a final agreement with Dart Realty, formalising the Dart-government ForCayman Investment Alliance, a $1.2 billion, 30-year programme of infrastructure improvement and economic revitalisation involving roads, hotels, schools, parks and relocation of the George Town Landfill to 110 acres near Bodden Town.
“We are working on the agreements,” Mr Bush told iNews Cayman yesterday, “but I’m not sure which one will be ready. I will let you know.”