Babak Belurs

Selasa, 27 Juni 2023

Senior doctors back strike action in England - BBC

By Nick Triggle

Health correspondent

NHS consultants in England have voted in favour of strike action in their fight for more pay.

Some 86% of British Medical Association members backed walkouts over what the union described as repeated pay cuts.

The union had already announced that a 48-hour walkout on 20 and 21 July would take place if doctors backed action.

It will follow a five-day strike by junior doctors - the combination is likely to lead to huge disruption to services, and cancelled treatments.

The walkout by junior doctors across all services will end on 18 July.

Consultants will be providing what is being described as Christmas Day cover during their own strike - so emergency care will be provided, along with a very limited amount of routine work.

British Medical Association (BMA) consultants committee chair, Dr Vishal Sharma, said the vote showed how "furious" they were at being repeatedly devalued by the government.

"Consultants don't want to have to take industrial action, but have been left with no option in the face of a government that continues to cut our pay year after year."

But he said it was not too late to avert strike action, and urged the government to come forward with a credible offer.

Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents NHS trusts, said the "double-whammy" of strikes by doctors next month was a "huge risk" for the NHS to manage.

No pay offer

Consultant pay has fallen by 27% since 2008 once RPI inflation is taken into account, but the BMA said once changes to tax and pension contributions were factored in, the cut to take-home pay was 35%.

A major factor in this is the fact that income tax thresholds have been frozen, and the introduction of the additional 45% tax rate for the highest earners.

During 2022, average NHS earnings exceeded £126,000 for consultants - this includes extra pay for additional hours and performance.

Unlike junior doctors at the start of their dispute, consultants are not asking for full pay restoration in one go. Instead, they want to see the government to start at least giving pay rises that match inflation.

Last year they received a 4.5% pay increase - less than half the rate of RPI inflation in the 12 months to March. No formal pay offer has been made for this year yet.

Junior doctors were offered a 5% rise this year in their talks with government. They rejected this, but have since said they would be willing to phase in pay restoration over a number of years.

Meanwhile, a ballot by the Royal College of Nursing failed to achieve a high enough turnout to give the union a mandate to continue its strike action.

That result - also announced on Tuesday - means the long-running dispute with nurses now comes to an end.

Labour shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said: "This is an unmitigated disaster of the government's making and the risk to patients and the NHS is intolerable.

"Rishi Sunak cannot continue to sit back like a passive observer and let this go ahead. He must now get the doctors in for immediate negotiations to bring these strikes to an end."

The Department of Health and Social Care said it was disappointed with the vote.

A spokesman said: "Strikes are hugely disruptive for patients and put pressure on other NHS staff.

"We urge the BMA to carefully consider the likely impact of any action on patients."

Are you a consultant with a view on the strike? Are you a patient affected? You can share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:

WhatsApp: +44 7756 165803
Tweet: @BBC_HaveYourSay
Upload pictures or video
Please read our terms & conditions and privacy policy

If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location with any submission.

'Morale is low'

RCN general secretary Pat Cullen said she was "proud" of her members and said while many will be disappointed with the outcome the fight for fair pay and safe staffing would continue.

She said she was meeting ministers this week over the NHS workforce plan which is due to be published soon and she would continue to make the case for the profession.

"I know staff morale is low and the staffing crisis is set to worsen without immediate action.

"We have started something special - the voice of nursing has never been stronger and we're going to keep using it."

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Social Care said it welcomed the end of the dispute and "hugely valued" the work of nurses.

"We hope other unions who remain in dispute with the government recognise it is time to stop industrial action and move forward together," she added.

Members of the RCN have taken part in eight days of strikes since the start of December.

They have involved around half of front-line services.

Meanwhile, strike action in Wales has been paused by the RCN as they have entered formal pay talks with ministers there.

An offer by ministers in Scotland was accepted by RCN members earlier in the year.

Senin, 26 Juni 2023

Public sector pay increase must be responsible - PM - BBC

This video can not be played

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

By Sam Francis

Political reporter, BBC News

Rishi Sunak has said he would make the "responsible" decision on pay increases for public sector workers, in order to control inflation.

Junior doctors in England will hold a five-day strike, over a below-inflation offer of a 5% pay increase this year.

Ministers have confirmed they are now considering next year's pay deal, after several independent pay review bodies reported their findings.

Mr Sunak said he was going to make the "right" decisions "for the country".

The prime minister called planned walkouts by junior doctors "very disappointing" and claimed this would "make it harder" to bring down NHS waiting lists - one of his key priorities for government.

"I think people should recognise the economic context we're in and I'm going to make the decisions that are the right ones for the country," he said.

Speaking during a trip to Nottinghamshire, he said: "I think everyone can see the economic context that we're in with inflation higher than we'd like it and it's important that in that context the government makes the right and responsible decisions on things like public sector pay.

"That's not always easy, people may not like that, but those are the right things for everybody that we get a grip of inflation."

Pay review body recommendations are not legally binding on the government and ministers can choose to reject or partially ignore the advice.

Kate Bell, assistant general secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), said any decision to ignore pay review body advice would be "driven by politics, not economics".

She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that public sector wages had fallen "well behind inflation" and that there had been a "15-year wage squeeze where wages haven't kept up with inflation".

"It is a bit rich to hear them [the government] now saying, 'Well, we're going to overturn those independent recommendations' when we haven't even seen them be published yet."

BMA demand

The Telegraph has reported junior doctors in England will be offered an additional £1,000 a year plus a 6% salary increase in a bid to bring an end to upcoming strikes.

Over half a million appointments have been postponed due to strikes by NHS workers over the last six months, according to official figures.

The British Medical Association (BMA) union, which represents doctors, has been asking for a 35% increase, saying it was to make up for 15 years of below-inflation rises.

The Treasury has previously suggested pay awards over 5% could fuel inflation. But the BMA claimed the offer was not "credible".

Labour's shadow health secretary Wes Streeting called for the government to resolve the dispute but would not put a figure on how much more doctors should be paid.

He added that calls from unions for pay restoration could not be delivered "overnight".

Doctors represented by the BMA voted to strike between 07:00 on Thursday 13 July and 07:00 on Tuesday 18 July - their longest ever junior doctor strike. The union represents over 46,000 junior doctors in the UK.

Junior doctors make up around half of all hospital doctors in England and a quarter of all doctors working in GP surgeries.

Around 6% of all doctor posts in the NHS are unfilled - for nurses it is nearly twice that level.

Many argue there is still a shortage - with not enough training places or funded doctor posts in the NHS in the first place.

The government is due to release plans for the "largest expansion in training and workforce" in the NHS's history, Mr Sunak announced on Sunday.

Speaking to the BBC, the prime minister said the plans would reduce "reliance on foreign-trained healthcare professionals".

Minggu, 25 Juni 2023

Cleethorpes: Girl, 15, dies after being pulled from sea - police - BBC

Rescuers conducting a search off Cleethorpes beach on Saturday

A 15-year-old girl has died after being pulled from the sea at Cleethorpes beach, police have confirmed.

Humberside Police said the girl and a boy, also 15, were airlifted to hospital at about 19:30 BST on Saturday.

The boy received treatment but was later discharged, the force said.

Both children had been reported missing at about 14:00 BST, prompting a search that involved an HM Coastguard helicopter and RNLI lifeboat.

A floral tribute at the scene of Saturday's tragedy

Flowers and tributes to the girl have been left at the scene.

Police said the girl would not be officially named, at the request of her family.

Det Insp Nathan Reuben said: "Our thoughts and sincere condolences are with the family at this incredibly difficult time. We ask that they are given the time and space to process this tragic news. The family is being supported by specially trained officers.

"We are working together with all the relevant agencies, including Humberside Fire and Rescue and the coastguard, to fully understand the circumstances of the tragic accident."

An HM Coastguard spokesperson said a lifeboat was launched at 16:00 and found the pair "some way" to sea.

They said it had been a very difficult day for everyone involved.

Earlier, police thanked the public for helping with the search.

Follow BBC East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk.

Related Internet Links

Humberside Police

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiM2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jb20vbmV3cy91ay1lbmdsYW5kLWh1bWJlci02NjAxMDQxMdIBN2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jb20vbmV3cy91ay1lbmdsYW5kLWh1bWJlci02NjAxMDQxMS5hbXA?oc=5

2023-06-25 14:22:41Z
CBMiM2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jb20vbmV3cy91ay1lbmdsYW5kLWh1bWJlci02NjAxMDQxMdIBN2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jb20vbmV3cy91ay1lbmdsYW5kLWh1bWJlci02NjAxMDQxMS5hbXA

Rishi Sunak defends possible curbs on UK public sector pay - Financial Times

What is included in my trial?

During your trial you will have complete digital access to FT.com with everything in both of our Standard Digital and Premium Digital packages.

Change the plan you will roll onto at any time during your trial by visiting the “Settings & Account” section.

What happens at the end of my trial?

If you do nothing, you will be auto-enrolled in our premium digital monthly subscription plan and retain complete access for 65 € per month.

You may also opt to downgrade to Standard Digital, a robust journalistic offering that fulfils many user’s needs. Compare Standard and Premium Digital here.

Any changes made can be done at any time and will become effective at the end of the trial period, allowing you to retain full access for 4 weeks, even if you downgrade or cancel.

When can I cancel?

You may change or cancel your subscription or trial at any time online. Simply log into Settings & Account and select "Cancel" on the right-hand side.

You can still enjoy your subscription until the end of your current billing period.

What forms of payment can I use?

We support credit card, debit card and PayPal payments.

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiP2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmZ0LmNvbS9jb250ZW50L2UzN2M0NWMwLTJhNjgtNDRmZi04NDU3LWIzMmQ4NjJjMTAxMdIBAA?oc=5

2023-06-25 12:35:58Z
CBMiP2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmZ0LmNvbS9jb250ZW50L2UzN2M0NWMwLTJhNjgtNDRmZi04NDU3LWIzMmQ4NjJjMTAxMdIBAA

Twitter hack: Joseph O'Connor jailed for celebrity cyber attack - BBC

Joseph James O'Connor is lead by Spanish police officers as he leaves a court after being arrested in 2021

A British man who hacked high profile Twitter accounts as part of a Bitcoin scam has been jailed in the US.

Joseph O'Connor, from Liverpool, hijacked more than 130 accounts in July 2020, including those of Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Elon Musk.

The 24-year-old pleaded guilty to hacking charges last month.

On Friday, he was sentenced to five years for cyber crimes, according to the United States Attorney's Office in the southern district of New York.

The hacking was part of a major Bitcoin scam that generated tweets asking followers to send Bitcoin to an account, promising to double their money.

As a result of the fraud, an estimated 350 million Twitter users viewed suspicious tweets from official accounts of some of the platform's biggest users, including Apple, Uber, Kanye West and Bill Gates.

Thousands were duped into believing that a crypto giveaway was real.

Twitter hack: What went wrong?

O'Connor, who went by the alias PlugwalkJoe, was extradited from Spain to the US in April and last month pleaded guilty to hacking charges that carried a total maximum sentence of more than 70 years.

Three other men have been charged over the scam, with US teenager Graham Clark pleading guilty to his part in the deception in 2021.

The hackers telephoned a small number of Twitter employees with a believable tale to convince them to hand over their internal login details - which eventually granted them access to Twitter's administrative tools.

They managed to use social engineering tricks - more akin to conmen than high-level cyber-criminals - to get access to the powerful internal control panel at the site.

In a statement, US Assistant Attorney-General Kenneth Polite Jr described O'Connor's actions as "flagrant and malicious", saying he had "harassed, threatened and extorted his victims, causing substantial emotional harm".

The US justice department also said O'Connor admitted other hacking crimes including gaining access to a high-profile TikTok account and stalking a minor.

He was also ordered to pay almost $800,000 in forfeiture, the US justice department said.

Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk

Babak Belurs

Selasa, 27 Juni 2023

Senior doctors back strike action in England - BBC

No pay offer

Related Topics