Once the bustling heart of Christian pilgrimage, Bethlehem now faces shuttered hotels, empty streets and a shrinking Christian community, while Israel’s assault on Gaza and the tightening grip of occupation destroy hopes of peace at the birthplace of Christ, writes Father GEOFF BOTTOMS
Why GMB is balloting for action in the NHS
For more than a decade the NHS has been subjected to a brutal regime of cuts and there has been no co-ordinated resistance. But a turning point has now been reached, writes HELEN O’CONNOR
GMB UNION has become the first trade union in the country to open a full legal ballot for industrial action in the NHS.
As GMB members up and down the country are checking their post for their ballot papers, we know that so many of them will be asking how it has come to this.
How have we reached a situation in this country where NHS staff are so undervalued, where patient neglect and deaths are on the rise and where increasing numbers of people are denied healthcare?
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