Daily Archives: 7 December 2022

Go-ahead for controversial Cumbria coal mine sparks climate dismay

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https://www.independent.co.u

Ministers have approved the opening of the first new British coal mine in a generation in a decision has horrified environmentalists and risks fresh revolt by Conservative MPs.

The Woodhouse Colliery project, near Whitehaven in Cumbria, has sparked fierce opposition from local people and environmentalists, including the president of the COP26 climate change summit, former cabinet minister Alok Sharma.

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Green groups warn that the new pit will damage the UK’s reputation internationally and undermine its ability to persuade others to make sacrifices to tackle global warming.

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The former chief executive of British Steel Ron Deelan agreed: “This is a completely unnecessary step for the British steel industry, which is not waiting for more coal as there is enough on the free market available.

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Pre-payment meters are forcing people to live in cold and damp homes, research reveals

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Image of cash and pre-payment meter key
Image of cash and pre-payment meter key

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/pre-payment-meters-are-forcing-people-live-cold-damp-homes-research-reveals

PRE-PAYMENT meters are forcing people to live in cold and damp homes, more than half of whom have poor health or disabilities, research by campaigners revealed today.

Some 64 per cent of customers on pre-payment meters are vulnerable, even before the predicted cold snap kicks in and increases energy bills, with 51 per cent having health conditions or disabilities, according to the figures collected by YouGov for the Warm This Winter campaign.

More than 10 per cent of customers on those meters have effectively self-disconnected by massively reducing their energy use.

More than 30 per cent of such customers now live in cold damp homes, more than the national average of 19 per cent.

Among the people on pre-payment meters and classified as vulnerable, 14 per cent are disconnecting and 36 per cent now living in a cold, damp home.

Publication of the research coincides with recent reports revealing that energy firms have secured almost 500,000 court warrants to instal pre-payment meters in the homes of customers in debt since the end of the coronavirus lockdown.

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Continue ReadingPre-payment meters are forcing people to live in cold and damp homes, research reveals

Ambulance workers in England and Wales to strike on 21 December

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NHS sign

https://www.theguardi

Thousands of ambulance workers and other NHS staff are to strike across England and Wales on 21 December in a dispute over pay, unions have announced, as the wave of industrial action planned for the winter builds.

The GMB, Unison and Unite unions are coordinating industrial action across England and Wales after accusing the government of ignoring pleas for a decent wage rise.

The strike will happen a day after members of the Royal College of Nursing stage their second walkout, also over pay.

The GMB said more than 10,000 ambulance workers across nine trusts in England and Wales would strike including the South West, South East Coast, North West, South Central, North East, East Midlands, West Midlands, Welsh and Yorkshire ambulance services.

Paramedics, emergency care assistants, call handlers and other staff will also walk out on 28 December.

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The Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham, said: “Make no mistake, we are now in the fight of our lives for the very NHS itself. These strikes are a stark warning – our members are taking a stand to save our NHS from this government.

“Patients’ lives are already at risk but this government is sitting on the sidelines, dodging its responsibility to sort out the crisis that it has created.

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‘We haven’t had a rise for three years’: a striking RMT train guard speaks out

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https://www.theguardian.com/uk

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“There are two main elements to why I, and most of my colleagues, are striking. We haven’t had a pay rise for three years – normally we have an annual cost-of-living-based rise roughly in line with inflation. Previously, through negotiation, a compromise would be found. In this particular spate of industrial action, this hasn’t been the case, we feel the government is using it as a political football and to demonise strikers.

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“We’re not against modernisation and we have [done so] but it should be a matter of negotiation, not something imposed from on high. We’re realistic – we realise the way people travel has changed but not that significantly, and numbers are bouncing back. We’re also concerned about de-staffing on trains and stations – not everyone wants to use vending machines, some elderly people find them challenging, and they don’t offer the full range of fares. Having no staff on some stations and then no guards on the train will increase fare evasion too.

“We’re genuinely sorry about the [strike’s] negative impact on those travelling before Christmas. [But] for us, it’s not just about pay, we’re making a stand against what we regard as massively negative plans to gut the railways. We don’t want the railway to become like P&O – it seems to be the way everything is going. I’ll lose thousands of pounds this month through striking but we’re going to fight it.”

Continue Reading‘We haven’t had a rise for three years’: a striking RMT train guard speaks out