GABORONE, Botswana (IRIN) – Patients and schoolchildren are emerging as the biggest losers from a strike by public service workers in Botswana which is entering its sixth week.

Close to a 100,000 public servants, including about 1,500 considered essential workers, are staying away from their posts while government and unions tussle over salaries.

Medical practitioners have disregarded warnings by the Botswana Health Professions Council to go back to work or risk being deregistered – with the result that major health centres like the Nyangabgwe Referral Hospital in Francistown and Princess Marina Hospital in the capital, Gaborone, are barely functioning, and smaller clinics have closed completely.

Maria Bogadi, 24, is expecting her second child any day and is unsure where to go when her labour pains begin.

“What will I do if there is no one to attend to me at the hospital?” she said. “I cannot afford to go to a private clinic, they are very expensive.”

Bogadi and her husband usually survive on the small income they receive doing casual labour at public facilities through a government initiative called `Ipelegeng’ which provides limited employment to some 50,000 beneficiaries. While Bogadi’s husband continues to do work through the programme, he has not been paid since the strike began.

Winfred Rasina, an activist from the opposition Botswana Movement for Democracy, told IRIN the poor and the marginalized had been hardest hit by the disruption of public services.

“The projects meant for the poor such as `Ipelegeng’ are at a standstill because staff… are on strike,” she told IRIN.

Rasina added that the rich and middle classes were less affected because they were not dependent on government handouts and mostly used private schools and doctors.

When the strike action started on 18 April, it was meant to last only 10 days, but the government said it could not afford unions’ demands for a 16 percent wage increase and offered 5 percent. That figure has now been revised to 3 percent.

In a public address, President Ian Khama slammed union leaders for failing to appreciate that the country was recovering from a recession which had left the government with a significant deficit.

“You cannot give what you don’t have, that is a fact,” said Khama. “We should all be in this together and I have no intention of drawing out this painful recession any longer than it has to be. So I am afraid we have stood our ground and we will continue to stand our ground.”

Schools shut

The minister of education closed all public, primary and secondary schools indefinitely on 16 May following violent clashes between the police and students who were protesting about the absence of teachers in classrooms.

Later that day, the government announced that it had fired all essential workers who had refused to return to work in contempt of a court order that barred them from striking, including doctors, nurses and pharmacists already in short supply at public hospitals.

The Botswana Centre for Human Rights (Ditshwanelo) released a statement noting that the stalemate between government officials and union leaders had already led to the loss of lives due to the absence of adequate medical staff at health facilities.

Delays in the supply of medication and problems with waste collection caused by the strike have also had an impact on public health.

The Botswana Confederation of Commerce, Industry and Manpower (BOCCIM) said the protracted strike had also had a negative impact on the economy, causing serious cash flow problems for many companies that relied on government orders for goods and services.

“Businesses in all categories and sectors have experienced, in general, a slow growth period,” said the Confederation in a statement.

“We’ve had some instances where BOCCIM business members indicated that they may close shop within a month if the situation does not subside.”

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– Provided by Integrated Regional Information Networks.

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Athens, Greece (AHN) – The Greek government is preparing tougher belt-tightening measures as it attempts to meet the terms of the country’s $110 billion (EUR 78 billion) bailout.

Prime Minister George Papandreou rejected debt restructuring ahead of a Monday cabinet meeting to tackle austerity measures, which includes tax hikes and sale of government assets.

Papandreou’s policy is in line with the European Central Bank stand that did not favor a debt restructuring for Greece. However, the drastic wage cut proposal may lead to more civil unrest among public employees. A study published on Sunday found that 80 percent of Greeks are not willing to make any more sacrifices for the country to enjoy further European Union and International Monetary Fund support for the bailout.

Experts opined that Greece is so mired in a debt spiral that more austerity measures would cause further recession and drastic drops in tax revenues. They warned that these economic consequences are self-reinforcing and very difficult to recover from.

While the prime minister is ready to fast track a $70.4 billion (EUR 50 billion) privatization program to raise more money to pay off the country’s mountain of debt, Papandreou said the government will keep its holdings in water and electricity utilities.

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Beijing, China (AHN) – Tight new controls on rare earth minerals were announced by China’s State Council on Thursday, which issued a national guideline for the industry.

World-wide high demand for rare earth minerals, which are essential in high tech manufacturing of electronics, has caused rapid development of mining for the minerals, which has exposed numerous problems.

Electronics that contain rare earths include everything from consumer electronics to hybrid car batteries and even weapons guidance systems.

Controls include export quotas for rare earth minerals. The new controls mark the first time rare earths have been designated a national strategic reserve in China.

Rare earth minerals are comprised of 17 chemical elements in the periodic table.

The commerce ministry began an immediate export quota on all iron alloys that contain more than 10 percent of rare earths.

In addition, China announced it would begin building a strategic reserve stockpile of rare earths.

The move was not unexpected.

But it is bound to increase anxiety over the availability of supplies to industries that depend on rare earths as well as anxiety over prices. China holds one-third of the world’s reserves of rare earths and provides more than 90 percent of global production.

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Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – Initial jobless claims declined by 29,000 to 409,000 for the week ending May 14 compared to the previous week’s tally of 438,000 claims.

That is still above the 400,000 mark. Analysts say first time unemployment compensation insurcance claims must drop below 400,000 and stay below that mark to signal the economy has turned around.

However, the less volatile four-week moving average was up by 1,250 from the previous figure, increasing to 439,000 claims.

The number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending April 30, the most recent week such data is available fell below the 8 million mark to 7,936,548, a decrease of 47,124 from the previous week.

Here is a look at which states had the largest increase in new claims for the week ending May 7.

• Alabama (+5,767)
• California (+4,015)
• Michigan (+3,122)
• Mississippi (+1,666)

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new york, ny, United States (AHN Sports) – Count New York Giants defensive tackle Chris Canty among those who feel that there will be NFL football this fall.

Canty for one feels that the labor impasse will be over soon enough and the season will get started when it is supposed to on Sept. 8.

“[The labor dispute] will definitely be settled. There will be a football season,” Canty told the New York Post Tuesday at the 18th annual Gridiron Gala at the Waldorf-Astoria in Manhattan, where he and Jets fullback Tony Richardson received awards for their commitment to community service.

“The fans don’t have to worry about that,” Canty added. “We’re going to have football this fall, and we’re going to try and put the quality product on the field that they are used to seeing come September.”

Canty is disappointed in Monday’s court ruling that froze a lower court’s injunction and allows the owners to continue the lockout at least until the players’ appeal begins June 3.

“It’s tough because you’d like to have the opportunity to prepare for the season in the offseason,” Canty said. “You’d like to be able to get with your teammates in the confines of the facilities and work with the coaches, to try and improve your football team and try to get ready to play your best football in the fall.”

Richardson feel the lockout has not affected him as much as a 16-year veteran of the league as it will younger players.

“I’m more concerned for guys who were just drafted,” he said. “They need to be in there working. They need to learn the lingo.”

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London, England, United Kingdom (AHN) – McDonald’s Europe will replace its cashiers with touch screen terminals and swipe cards at 7,700 outlets across the continent.

The move seeks to improve service and ensure the fast flow of diners amid difficult economic times.

McDonald’s Europe President Steve Easterbrook estimated that the replacement of cashiers by computer terminals would reduce customer serving times by three to four seconds per transaction.

McDonald’s Europe, which registered a 6.5 percent increase in sales growth for April, serves two million diners daily. The fast food chain’s European operations bested U.S. operations which logged a 4 percent growth and equaled sales growth in its Asian/Pacific, Middle Eastern and African operations.

The company’s operations was boosted primarily by McDonald’s outlets in U.K., France and Russia.

With the shift to terminals, diners in these outlets could no longer pay in cash but would have to use credit or debit cards to purchase meals.

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Sacramento, CA, United States (AHN) – The impasse over extending taxes continues in California despite a revised budget plan from Gov. Jerry Brown that relies on an unanticipated rise in revenue. Republicans have insisted on an alternative plan that would cut compensation for state workers by 10 percent.

The updated budget takes into account a current-year tax revenue increase of $2.8 billion and a budget year earnings boost of $3.5 billion, for a total adjusted revenue of $6.6 billion.

The windfall, combined with steps already implemented by Brown since taking office, has reduced the state’s deficit from $26.6 billion to $9.6 billion, which consists of a current shortfall of $4.8 billion and another $4.8 billion in the fiscal year starting this July.

Brown’s previous budget plan reduced spending by $12.5 billion and relied on revenue of $12 billion from extending taxes. His new budget cuts spending by $11.2 billion because of an increase in funds for public schools by $3 billion.

Additional cost-cutting measures such as the elimination of 43 boards and commissions, as well as more than 5,000 state jobs, compensates for a revenue package that has failed to attract support from Republicans.

Brown, who assumed office in January having served two terms as governor three decades ago, has dropped his plan to raise the personal income tax. Under his revised plan, Californians will pay $2 billion less in income taxes compared to his initial proposal. However, he is still seeking to extend the sales tax and vehicle license fee for five years through a ballot.

The tax package represents 42 percent of the revised plan, while spending cuts account for 48 percent. Cuts include previously announced measures such as the closure of 70 parks to save $11 million in the first year, a hiring freeze and the halving of the number of state cars and cell phones.

The ballot for the tax extensions must first be approved by two Republicans from the Assembly and two Republicans from the state Senate.

Republicans rejected the governor’s revised plan and accused him of “fund[ing] bigger government.”

“Assembly Republicans showed that we can protect funding for the classroom and law enforcement without raising taxes,” Assembly Minority Leader Connie Conway said in a statement. ” We call upon the governor to stop trying to raise people’s taxes and start working across party lines on a no-tax increase budget compromise.”

State GOP Chair Tom Del Beccaro added, “The bottom line is that Brown’s demand to increase spending while we have a deficit means that he still doesn’t understand that we can no longer spend beyond our means.”

The statemate with Republicans occurred in March when the governor suspended negotiations over what he said were “an ever changing list of collateral demands” in return for support for a special election, such as giving a $1 billion tax break to out-of-state corporations so the companies would bring jobs to California.

The alternative GOP budget plan relies on the higher April revenue to prevent cuts to education and law enforcement. It does not raise taxes and calls on state workers to “do their part” with a 10 percent reduction in pay, benefits and other employee costs, which Republicans say would provide the government with $1.1 billion in savings.

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Sacramento, CA, United States (AHN) – California Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday was set to unveil an updated budget plan to close a record $26.6 billion deficit while taking into account better-than-expected April tax receipts and Republican opposition to a June ballot on tax extensions.

The announcement will come as the end of the fiscal year looms, and teachers and students in the state, which has the nation’s largest university system and the world’s eighth-largest economy, protest further cuts.

Brown early this year proposed a plan reducing spending by $12.5 billion, including $1.4 billion in cuts to higher education, and generating $12 billion from an extension of taxes that are due to expire this summer.

The tax extensions require a June ballot that in turn, must first be approved by two Republicans from the Assembly and two from the state Senate. The deadline for including the extensions in the ballot has passed, and unions have asked lawmakers to instead pass a bill allowing the ballot.

The governor’s revised budget plan is expected to seek at least some of his revenue-generating tax hikes even as Republicans point out the state’s more than $2 billion in unanticipated April tax revenue.

Last week, Brown announced drastic measures such as eliminating the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board and shuttering 70 of 278 state parks, including the governor’s mansion.

Eliminating the appeals board, which is composed of appointees who preside over appeals on disputes about jobless and disability claims, would save the state $1.2 million.

The closure of parks would reduced spending by $11 million in the fiscal year starting in July, and another $22 million the following year. Parks with the least attendance and cultural and environmental significance were chosen for the closure, which will not affect 92 percent of public attendance in parks.

Brown, who served as governor for two terms nearly three decades ago, also plans to merge the state’s two personnel agencies into a single human resources department to save at least $5.8 million.

Previously, he ordered a hiring freeze and slashed the number of state cars and cell phones by 50 percent.

Republicans, who released an alternative budget plan last week, have railed against the latest proposals as “posturing” and ” misguided threats.”

State GOP spokesman Mark Standriff called the planned closure of parks “a ‘Washington Monument Strategy’ that is both cynical and manipulative, and shows little respect for the taxpayers.”

The Republican plan relies on the higher April revenue to prevent cuts to education and law enforcement. It does not raise taxes and calls on state workers to “do their part” with a 10 percent reduction in pay, benefits and other employee costs, which the GOP says would provide the government with $1.1 billion in savings.

The California Teachers Association, which held statewide protests last week, said the GOP’s alternative proposal would leave a $14.7 billion budget gap and fails to provide “real solutions.”

The San Francisco Chronicle said in its editorial on Monday that the GOP plan “should be dismissed as a nonstarter,” because it “included a heavy dose of borrowing and reliance on ‘savings.’ ” The newspaper also blasted Republicans for pushing “a ridiculously long wish list that strayed far from the subject of the budget.”

In March, Brown ended negotiations with Republicans after what he said was “an ever changing list of collateral demands” in return for support for a special election, such as giving a $1 billion tax break to out-of-state corporations so the companies would bring jobs to California.

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London, England, United Kingdom (AHN) – British households have lost about $750 (GBP 500) in the past 12 months, according to a study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies released on Friday. It is considered the largest drop in household income since 1981, and is equal to what households made in 2004.

The think tank said that average take-home income actually went up despite the recent recession because of low inflation and higher social benefits, but the long-term effects of the recession and the threat of a higher consumer price index negated the income hike.

The institute blamed the decline on rising inflation and lower wage increases.

Bank of England Governor Mervyn King earlier warned that British households may suffer from a substantial reduction in their spending power and advised families to anticipate a two-digit increase in energy bills, which would push the inflation rate to 5 percent by the end of 2011.

The study was based on data from 2009-10 when Britain was still under a Labour-led government. At that time, average income was still going up faster than inflation, but the think tank said the trend appears to have reversed beginning last year. During this period, earnings dropped by 3.8 percent in real terms for the first 11 months.

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London, United Kingdom (AHN) – British Airways and the Unite union have hammered out a deal to end a long-standing that now only awaits ratification by the ballot vote of nearly 10,000 cabin crew members.

Ratification looks likely because 2,000 cabin crew members of the British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association approved the deal at a mass meeting. That means a strike planned for next week will not take place. There have been 22 days of strikes against the airline during the nearly two years of disputes over pay and benefits.

The agreement calls for a 4 percent hike in pay this year and a 3.5 percent increase next year.

In addition, travel perks that were cut will be restored.

Both the union and the airline made concessions to reach agreement.

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