#trade-unions

#trade-unions

The North Sea oil and gas industry is in decline, a shadow business minister has said as she defended plans to block new drilling licences from 2050, a move criticised by trade unions.Seema Malhotra said the proposal was an important part of the transition to net zero, by phasing out new fields from which to extract fossil fuels and boosting Britain's sovereign capability for clean and green energy.

Keir Starmer has moved to calm a growing rift with the GMB union over Labour's energy policy, even as its leader renewed his attack on the party's plan to prohibit new North Sea oil and gas developments.The Labour leader has pledged to enact the ban if his party wins power, proposing to invest instead in renewable sources, such as wind farms, and in nuclear power.

The business secretary has defended a government climbdown on its plan to get rid of EU-era laws copied over after Brexit.Ministers announced last month they had ditched a December deadline for the laws to expire automatically, unless kept or replaced.At a Commons committee, Kemi Badenoch was criticised for making the U-turn over the Retained EU Law Bill.

Union leaders have promised to defy the Government's controversial legislation on minimum levels of service during strikes in a series of speeches at a rally in central London.More than one hundred people gathered in Parliament Square waving colourful union flags as they cheered at criticism of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill, which returns to Parliament for MPs to discuss amendments put forward by the Lords.

Why make friends, when it's so much easier to make enemies?Kemi Badenoch's default mode of interaction is always to be patronising and condescending.She can't help herself.It's a narcissistic variant.She is unable to imagine herself as anything other than always right about everything.Even when she has been forced to change her mind.

The Scottish Government was able to resolve a union dispute with rail workers because it caved in, the Transport Secretary has claimed.Mark Harper said the government in Edinburgh had not offered value to taxpayers when it agreed to demands from the rail unions for a pay rise.His criticism of the SNP-run government's resolution came after the party's transport spokesman in Westminster Gavin Newlands asked why the UK Government had not been able to bring an end to industrial disputes in England.

The chairwoman of the Covid inquiry would surely be left with no choice but to resign if the Government wins its legal fight over access to ministers' WhatsApp messages, a lawyer for families bereaved in the pandemic has said.The Government has sought a judicial review in a bid to limit disclosure of material to the inquiry, saying personal information could end up being unnecessarily surrendered.

Kemi Badenoch has come under fire from furious Conservative backbenchers, the opposition and the Commons speaker after defending the government's U-turn on retained EU laws.The business secretary was challenged by Mark Francois, chair of the Tory Brexiter European Research Group (ERG), who asked why the government had performed a massive climbdown on its own bill despite having such strong support from its backbenchers.

Rail minister Huw Merriman has defended the Government's stance on strikes, months after admitting that the Government has lost more money due to the impact of rail strikes than it would have cost to settle the disputes months ago.In remarks at the Transport Select Committee in January, the Conservative minister said the row with rail unions has ended up costing more but insisted the overall impact on all public sector pay deals must be considered.

A crucial meeting will be held on Tuesday between unions and NHS employers which is expected to pave the way for the Government to implement a pay rise aimed at resolving the long-running health workers dispute.The NHS Staff Council will hear reports from unions which have balloted hundreds of thousands of health workers in recent weeks.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay has said he is cautiously optimistic that unions will accept the current pay offer for nurses, despite increasingly heated rhetoric between negotiators.On Tuesday, unions in the NHS Staff Council will consider the offer of a 5% pay increase for 2023/24 along with a one-off payment worth between 1,655 and 3,789 for the current financial year for nurses in England.

Protests against the government's use of a special constitutional provision, known as article 49.3, to sweep aside parliamentary opposition to the reform have been angrier than anything seen over the past two months.Unions, united in coordinating their protests, called for a ninth strike day next Thursday, but many expressed fears they could lose control of the protests as more radical demonstrators set the tone.

The Royal College of Nursing has clashed with the government over whether sufficient exemptions have been made to protect patient safety during the nurses' strike in England that is due to start on Sunday night.The general secretary of the RCN, Pat Cullen, said nurses had worked tirelessly to make sure their strike would be as safe as possible for patients and that there were national exemptions in place for those really acute urgent services.

As an A&E doctor, I start every consultation these days by apologising for the long wait.For some of my patients, it means a scramble to organise emergency childcare.Others miss the window to access the best treatments for strokes or heart attacks.The waiting room is a hotbed of emotion.My patients are understandably furious that they've been left in a windowless waiting room for hours with limited food and water, inadequate pain relief and little information about when they might be seen (aside from the hourly PA announcement that the current wait time is 15 hours and is expected to increase).

Prime minister says her objective is to bring calm to' France after violent protests against pension reform plans.French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has said she plans to meet with opposition leaders and trade unions after weeks of protests against pension reforms.Borne's statement on Sunday came as demonstrations against the pension plan deteriorated into violence after the government pushed the legislation through without a final parliamentary vote.

FRANCE IN TURMOIL A protester holds a placard during a demonstration at Place de la Concorde in Paris after the French government pushed a pension reform bill through the National Assembly without a vote, March 16, 2023.Thomas Samson, AFP Several consequences could follow the French government's use of Article 49.3 of the constitution to pass President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform without a vote in the National Assembly on Thursday.

The French government will face a no-confidence vote on Monday, as MPs said they feared for their safety, strike action intensified and police banned demonstrators from parts of central Paris after Emmanuel Macron's decision to push through an unpopular rise in the pension age without a parliament vote.

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails President Emmanuel Macron's government has used special constitutional powers to force an unpopular pensions bill through France's parliament without a vote, triggering boos and shouts of "Resign!" in chaotic scenes.

France faces another day of strikes on Wednesday over contested pension reforms that President Emmanuel Macron appears on the verge of pushing through, despite months of protests.Published: 15 March 2023 08:59 CET As the legislation enters the final stretch in parliament, trade unions are set to make another attempt to pressure the government and lawmakers into rejecting the proposed hike in the retirement age to 64.

Mounted French police officers intervene during a protest by local council employees against the government's retirement reform as they hold a banner that reads, 'Do not touch my retirment', in front on the prefecture in Seine Saint-Denis, in Bobigny, a surburb of Paris, on March 14, 2023.Thomas Samson, AFP France faces another day of strikes on Wednesday over highly contested pension reforms which President Emmanuel Macron appears on the verge of pushing through despite months of protests.

The Senate and lower house National Assembly are set to hold ballots on the legislation to raise the retirement age to 64, with Macron's minority government dependent on the opposition Republicans (LR) party for support.After months of negotiations, everyone wants a moment of truth, a senior figure in Macron's Renaissance party told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The Senate and lower house National Assembly are set to hold ballots on the legislation to raise the retirement age to 64, with Macron's minority government dependent on the opposition Republicans (LR) party for support.After months of negotiations, everyone wants a moment of truth, a senior figure in Macron's Renaissance party told AFP on condition of anonymity.

A demonstrator holds a sign with an image of French President Emmanuel Macron at a protest against the government's pension reform plan in Paris, France, on March 11, 2023.Benoit Tessier, Reuters A proposed reform of France's pension system, which has sparked massive protests and strikes since the start of the year, is to be put to a vote in parliament on Thursday in a decisive moment for President Emmanuel Macron.

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Hundreds of thousands of workers from several trade unions will strike on Wednesday in what threatens to be the biggest single day of industrial action since the current wave of unrest started last year.

The spectacle of the shipwrecked Conservative party is a wonder to behold.Boris Johnson the destroyer will carry on sinking the remains of the galleon he once captained out of sheer revenge.Cabals of every rightwing complexion include the old bastards of yesteryear John Redwood still at it and new red-wallers seeing their brief careers vanish before their eyes.

The UK's most senior climate adviser has strongly endorsed Labour's vow to halt new oil and gas exploration in the North Sea, and slammed the government for failing to show leadership on the issue.John Gummer, who as Lord Deben chairs the statutory committee on climate change, told the Guardian he approved of Labour's commitment.

A Labour mayor has been barred from the party's list of candidates for the inaugural North East mayoral election.North of Tyne mayor Jamie Driscoll called the decision "arbitrary and capricious".The move has been linked to Mr Driscoll's onstage appearance with film director and expelled Labour member Ken Loach in Newcastle in March.