Steve Barclay criticises ‘increasing militancy’ of NHS strikes as consultants walk out

Published

2 years ago

September 19, 2023

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Health Secretary Steve Barclay has criticised the “increasing militancy” and “politically” motivated strikes, and said that is why new legislation to curtail walkouts is being introduced.

Mr Barclay was speaking as consultants took industrial action today, with junior doctors set to join them tomorrow in the first joint strike in NHS history.

The government is consulting on adding requirements for medical staff to provide minimum service levels during strike days, adding to the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act passed earlier this year. This legislation introduced minimum service levels for sectors like rail workers.

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Speaking to Sky News, Mr Barclay said that the “Christmas Day” service levels provided on strike days do not “get the balance right”.

He said: “And we’ve seen this escalation increasing militancy, a desire politically to time strikes, including with the Conservative Party conference to refuse exemptions that have been agreed locally by their own representatives, as we saw in some cases in August.

“And also it’s very difficult for the NHS leaders to plan if they don’t know until the last minute what exemptions are going to be in place or not.”

Junior doctors, who are striking during the governing party’s conference, are calling for “pay restoration” to 2008 levels, equivalent to a 35% rise. Consultants are looking for an above-inflation pay rise.

Dr Tom Dolphin, a member of the British Medical Association’s consultants committee, told Sky News: “If you bring in the legislation to try and crush a very legitimate dispute like this, it doesn’t end the dispute, it just suppresses it and saves up problems for later.”

Labour has pledged to repeal the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act.

Mr Barclay said: “We’ve accepted in full the recommendations of the independent pay review body.

“That means a junior doctor starting in the wards this summer will be getting a pay rise of up to 10.3%. The average for junior doctors is 8.8%, which is, I suspect, more than many of your viewers themselves are receiving.

“We also responded to the BMA’s number one ask, which was for very significant changes to pension taxation, which the government has agreed to, which is an extremely generous uplift.

“But we also need to be fair to other workers, other the workers across the public sector in terms of how we bring inflation down and manage the costs of that, whether that’s in our armed forces, our teachers elsewhere within the NHS.”

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Consultants are walking out in a long-running dispute over pay on Tuesday and Wednesday this week as well as on 2, 3 and 4 October.

Junior doctors, who have held 19 days of strike action since March, will walk out on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this week, and on 2,3 and 4 October.

Politics

Italy finance minister warns US stablecoins pose bigger threat than tariffs

Published

8 hours ago

April 16, 2025

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Italy finance minister warns US stablecoins pose bigger threat than tariffs

Italy’s minister of economy and finance warned that US stablecoin policies are more concerning than President Donald Trump’s tariffs, citing the potential for these crypto assets to undermine the euro’s dominance in cross-border payments.

Speaking at an event in Milan, Giancarlo Giorgetti said that while trade tariffs dominate headlines, new US policies on dollar-backed stablecoins present an “even more dangerous” threat to European financial stability, according to a Reuters report.

US stablecoins allow users to invest in a widely accepted method for cross-border payments without opening a US bank account, Giorgetti said. He warned that the growing appeal of US stablecoins to Europeans should not be underestimated.

Giorgetti urged European Union lawmakers to take more steps to boost the euro’s position as an international currency. He added that the digital euro under development by the European Central Bank (ECB) will be essential to minimize the need for Europeans to resort to foreign solutions.

US lawmakers advance stablecoin bills

Presently, stablecoin regulation in the US remains fragmented. Instead of a unified framework, multiple agencies apply existing laws to regulate stablecoins. However, lawmakers are working to implement changes, with several pieces of stablecoin legislation progressing.

On April 2, the US House Financial Services Committee passed the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy (STABLE) Act. The bill is now headed to the House floor for a full vote.

The bill was introduced on Feb. 6 by Committee Chair French Hill and the Digital Assets Subcommittee Chair Bryan Steil. It would ensure that stablecoin issuers provide information on their businesses, including how their tokens are backed.

In addition, the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act establishes rules that require issuers to maintain reserves backed one-to-one, comply with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws, protect consumers and boost dollar dominance in the global economy.

The GENIUS Act still requires approval by both chambers of Congress and a presidential signature before becoming law.

ECB exec renews digital euro push

Apart from Giorgetti, ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone also urged European lawmakers to intensify their efforts to combat dollar-backed stablecoin dominance in Europe. On April 8, Cipollone wrote an article expressing concerns about the growing popularity of US stablecoins.

The official suggested launching a central bank digital currency to combat this threat to the euro. He said this would aid in preserving the monetary sovereignty of the eurozone.

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Politics

OKX reenters US market following $505M DOJ settlement

Published

8 hours ago

April 16, 2025

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OKX reenters US market following 5M DOJ settlement

Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange OKX announced that it is reentering the US market.

According to an April 16 blog post, OKX will return to the United States market along with the appointment of former Barclays director Roshan Robert as its US CEO. Robert said in the post:

“Today, I’m thrilled to announce the launch of OKX’s centralized crypto exchange and OKX Wallet in the United States, alongside the establishment of our regional headquarters in San Jose, California.“

All existing Okcoin users will be migrated to the new platform, which Robert said will lead to a better overall experience. The promised improvements include deeper liquidity, lower fees and advanced trading tools.

OKX reenters US market following $505M DOJ settlement — *Source:* *OKX*

Step by step

OKX will not roll out the upgrade in one shot. Instead, the new platform will take a phased approach to onboard new customers. The exchange plans to follow the cautious approach with a nationwide launch later in 2025.

“We’re beginning with a phased rollout for new customers to ensure a smooth and secure onboarding process, with a broader nationwide launch planned later this year,“ Robert said.

OKX also promised integrations with local banks and support for major assets, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), USDt (USDT) and USDC (USDC). Robert noted that the company maintains a global proof of reserves for all its assets, which is published monthly by cybersecurity firm Hacken.

Hacken had not responded to Cointelegraph’s request for comment by publication time.

In addition to its trading platform, the firm is also rolling out OKX Wallet to its US-based customers. The wallet supports 130 blockchains and features a decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator, allowing access to over 10 million tokens on platforms including Ethereum, Solana and Base.

OKX gets out of US troubles

The report follows OKX hiring former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to advise it over a federal probe that resulted in the firm pleading guilty to several violations and agreeing to pay $505 million in fines and penalties.

The exchange admitted on Feb. 24 to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business in violation of US Anti-Money Laundering laws. As a consequence, OKX agreed to pay $84 million worth of penalties while forfeiting $421 million worth of fees earned from primarily institutional clients.

After the investigation concluded, OKX said it would seek out a compliance consultant to remedy the problems revealed by the federal probe and improve its compliance efforts. OKX’s CEO Star Xu wrote in a Feb. 24 X post:

“Our vision is to make OKX the gold standard of global compliance at scale across different markets and their respective regulatory bodies.”

OKX had not responded to Cointelegraph’s request for comment by publication time

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Politics

Government claims car interventions will save £500 a year – but only if you hit a pothole

Published

10 hours ago

April 16, 2025

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Government claims car interventions will save £500 a year - but only if you hit a pothole

Hitting potholes is “all too common”, a minister has insisted amid scrutiny of the government’s claim that new road measures will save drivers £500 a year.

Lillian Greenwood told Sky News Breakfast with Anna Jones that people face “eyewatering” costs if a pothole causes more damage to their car than a puncture, with the average repair job setting them back by £460, according to the RAC.

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This, along with the continued freeze on fuel duty, will save drivers over £500 a year, the government has said, claiming its interventions are easing the cost-of-living crisis for drivers.

It was put to Ms Greenwood that the savings only apply if you hit a pothole in the first place.

Asked if she thinks it’s a common occurrence, she said: “Unfortunately, it’s all too common. And because we’ve had more than 10 years of the Conservatives under investing in our road network, that’s left it absolutely cratered with potholes.”

She said potholes are “probably the biggest issue” when she doorsteps constituents, adding: “They’re really angry about the state of their local roads.

“Far too many people are hitting a pothole and finding they’re having to fork out to get their car fixed.”

Earlier this year, an annual industry report estimated that 17% of the local road network in England and Wales are in poor condition.

It predicted that the one-time catch-up cost to clear the backlog of maintenance issues would cost £16.81bn and take 12 years to complete.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s autumn budget contained a £1.6bn investment to maintain roads and fix potholes, which it said was an increase of £500m on the 2024-25 budget.

Local authorities will get the first tranche of that money this month.

It comes ahead of the local elections in May, when support for drivers could become a dividing line.

It was put to Ms Greenwood that while trumpeting its motorist-friendly credentials, Labour has also introduced a £1.7bn car tax raid and backed more 20mph low tariff neighbourhoods.

She said the government has left decisions on Low Traffic Neighbourhoods to local authorities and many people “want to see drivers going slower”.

The government’s announcement on savings today came alongside a pledge to remove 1,000 miles of roadworks over the Easter weekend in a bid to cut journey times.