In first breakthrough of long-running dispute, nurses to begin ‘intensive talks’ with govt today
Nurses have paused strike action as they begin pay talks with the government – despite a recommendation that most public sector staff should get a pay rise of just 3.5%.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is getting around the table with the health secretary today to start “intensive talks” on pay and conditions.
It is the first breakthrough in a long-running dispute that saw their first-ever strike in December, plus further walkouts in January and February.
They were offered the talks yesterday afternoon and said they would pause plans for a 48-hour strike in England from 1 to 3 March, which was to involve emergency, intensive care and cancer staff for the first time.
RCN head Pat Cullen said she is “confident that we will come out with a fair pay settlement for our nursing staff”.
The union initially wanted an above-inflation pay rise of 19.2% following years of real-term pay cuts but said it would meet the government “halfway” at 10%.
Unison, which also represents nurses, criticised the government for only offering meetings with the RCN as it called for pay talks with all health unions.
British Medical Association (BMA) members who are junior doctors – all doctors below consultant level – also announced on Monday they had voted overwhelmingly in favour of striking for 72 hours, forcing most pre-planned care to be cancelled on dates yet to be announced.
The Department for Education also offered talks with teaching unions on Monday but they have not revealed if those have been accepted yet.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Nurses’ union ‘confident’ of agreeing deal
3.5% pay rise across various sectors
Moments after the government and the RCN agreed to talks, the government published its recommendation for a 3.5% pay rise for NHS staff, police officers, teachers, judges and prison staff for the next financial year.
The government said a 3.5% pay rise would be “affordable” – but unions are calling for much higher increases for this year before negotiations even begin for 2023/24.
In the Department for Health and Social Care’s evidence to the pay review body, which recommends how much public sector staff should be paid, it said anything above 3.5% “would require trade offs for public service deliver or further government borrowing”.
Rachel Harrison, national secretary for the GMB union that represents ambulance workers and other NHS staff, called the offer “a disgrace” and said it “will do nothing to end GMB’s NHS and ambulance strikes”.
Unison’s head of health, Sara Gorton, said the government “couldn’t have done better than this” if it was actively trying to worsen the NHS crisis and warned it “could prove the final straw” for staff questioning whether to leave the NHS.
Tuesday also saw Welsh Ambulance workers who are members of Unite setting out two further days of strike action on 6 and 10 March – on top of the current three-day strike that ends today.
As health is a devolved issue, their fight is with the Welsh Labour government.
Read more:
NHS crisis: Why are so many staff leaving the health service?
Who is striking and when?
The GMB union said the 3.5% pay offer was a ‘disgrace’
Police
The 3.5% pay recommendation from the Home Office for police pointed to forces having “previously indicated that a pay award above 2% for 2023/24 may be affordable”.
The document said the department was carrying on discussions with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and Association of Police and Crime Commissioners.
But it added: “Considering the additional funding available from the police funding settlement for 2023/24, and forces seeking to maximise efficiencies, our current assessment is that there is scope for forces to budget up to a 3.5% pay award within the existing settlement.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Teacher strike would be ‘regrettable’
Teachers
The Department for Education’s recommendation for a 3.5% pay rise for teachers also included 3% awards for experienced teachers and raising starting salaries to £30,000.
It said that “will be manageable within schools’ budgets next year, on average, following the additional funding provided at autumn statement”.
But ministers also said there could be more available for teachers if energy costs came down, allowing them “more headroom”.
The National Education Union (NEU) joint secretary, Kevin Courtney, said he was “pleased” the government is offering formal talks and he hopes it means they are willing to talk about pay after previous talks this year have failed to result in an offer.
But he said their offer of talks “still contains no suggestion that they are willing to talk about pay rises this year”.
There is nothing in the government’s talks offer suggesting the NEU should call off next week’s teacher strikes, the union said.
But, Mr Courtney said there is still time for an offer to be made ahead of its national executive meeting this Saturday.
Judges and prison workers
The Ministry of Justice said all judges should get a 3.5% pay increase next year, which it said would cost £23m.
On its submission for those working in the prison service, it said it would not provide a base figure and instead submitted proposals for wages depending on pay band.
Jeffrey Epstein led two different lives – sex offender and celebrity networker – and he did that in the UK as well as the US.
The newly released Epstein documents reveal, in particular, how the paedophile financier ascended into the highest levels of British society.
This photo of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor sprawled across the lap of several women, whose identities have been protected, speaks to his close relationship with Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, who was jailed for child sex trafficking and other offences in connection with Epstein. But the furnishings are even more revealing.
Epstein files – latest updates
Andrew Mountbatten Windsor pictured with Ghislaine Maxwell. Note: inclusion in Epstein files does not infer wrongdoing
Sky News matched the fireplace in this photo with the one in Sandringham, the estate where the royals tend to spend Christmas – (Andrew is not invited this year).
Andrew has vigorously denied any accusations against him.
Prince Charles, now King Charles III, at Sandringham with Prince Edward. Pic: PA
Also included in the latest release are Epstein’s flight records. They provide some useful corroborating evidence.
A flight log from the Epstein files
On 9 March 2001, his plane landed at “EGGW” – Luton Airport – with JE, GM and VR on board – Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Virginia Roberts, better known by her married name of Virginia Giuffre and perhaps Epstein’s most famous accuser.
The next day is when this photo was alleged to have been taken, in London, of Giuffre and Andrew.
Prince Andrew, Virginia Roberts, aged 17, and Ghislaine Maxwell at Ghislaine Maxwell’s townhouse in London, in March 2001
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell hunting, date unknown. Pic: US DoJ
Other photos show Maxwell on the steps of Downing Street – and power was as much a draw as celebrity.
Ghislaine Maxwell outside 10 Downing Street, date unknown. Pic: US DoJ
On 15 May 2002, the flight records show Epstein again arriving at Luton.
A flight log from the Epstein files
The next day is when he met Tony Blair, prime minister at the time. This was before Epstein’s first arrest and there is no suggestion of wrongdoing.
Read more:
New photos of Jeffrey Epstein’s circle released
Ghislaine Maxwell sex trafficking case material to be released
The meeting was arranged by Peter Mandelson, who lost his job as ambassador to the US because of his Epstein connections, and who features prominently in the files.
Peter Mandelson and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: US DoJ
The UK was a draw for Epstein’s wider circle too – Maxwell here is pictured touring the Churchill War Rooms with Bill Clinton and Kevin Spacey. Neither are accused of wrongdoing or knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.
(L-R) Ghislaine Maxwell, Kevin Spacey and Bill Clinton, with three other men. Pic: US DoJ
And the other grim life that Epstein led, of sex trafficking, also had British links.
A page from the Epstein files
Another document released in the files, from 2019, shows witness testimony from Maxwell’s trial. In it, a victim is mentioned who is “17 years old” and who grew up “in England”. She would later be taken to Epstein’s private Caribbean island.
Police have announced a £20,000 reward in the hunt for the killers of a man in north London in March.
Mahad Abdi Mohamed, 27, died after being shot in the head in Waverley Road, Tottenham at 8.45pm on 20 March, the Metropolitan Police said.
The Met, which announced the reward from the independent charity Crimestoppers, said officers believed the shooting was a case of mistaken identity.
Police now want to speak to two people in connection with the incident.
DCI Rebecca Woodsford, who is leading the investigation, said: “There is someone out there who knows what happened that night, and we are urging those individuals to find it in their heart to come forward. It could be exactly what we need to locate those responsible.”
Images of the two people police would like to speak to. Pics: Metropolitan Police
A targeted attack
Police believe the suspects, who got out of a stolen Mitsubishi Outlander, which was later recovered burned out, were taking part in a targeted attack.
On the night of the murder, Mahad had spent the early evening with his friend at their home.
They were breaking their fast outside when the Mitsubishi Outlander approached and the suspects opened fire, striking Mahad and his friend multiple times.
Mahad’s 26-year-old friend received treatment for a gunshot wound to his leg.
The force suspects another stolen vehicle, a blue Jaguar, was used to transport the suspects to and from the Mitsubishi.
Read more from Sky News:
Driver guilty of murder in Christmas Day rampage
Ukraine “hits Russian tanker in Mediterranean Sea for first time”
The stolen cars from the night. Pics: Metropolitan Police
Police arrested four adult men in March and April on suspicion of murder, who were subsequently bailed.
The investigation so far has led officers to believe whoever killed Mahad set out to hurt someone else in a pre-planned, targeted attack.
Appealing to the public for information, Mahad’s youngest sister said: “To stay silent is to be complicit. To stay silent is to let a grieving mother suffer in confusion. To stay silent is to let a little boy grow up not knowing what happened to his father.”
Pic: Metropolitan Police
The reward, which is offered for information that leads to the identification, arrest and prosecution of those responsible, is available for three months and is due to expire on 20 March 2026.
-
Sports2 years agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Sports3 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment3 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment1 year agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024