From the Gospel according to Matthew
MT 25:1-13
Jesus told his disciples this parable:
“The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins
who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
Five of them were foolish and five were wise.
The foolish ones, when taking their lamps,
brought no oil with them,
but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps.
Since the bridegroom was long delayed,
they all became drowsy and fell asleep. Read more
PUBLISHED: 14:04 05 November 2020 | UPDATED: 14:43 05 November 2020
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<a class="email" href="mailto:[email protected]" rel="nofollow"> <!-- Author Start -->Sarah Chambers<!-- Author End -->
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<p class="article-image-caption">UK workers still only made up 11% of the seasonal farm workforce this year, even after a widely-publicised government-led recruitment drive Picture: JAMES FOSKETT</p>
<p class="article-image-copyright">James Foskett Farms</p>
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<!--PSTYLE=SF Web Summary--><h2>A Suffolk vegetable grower warned his organic business “would finish overnight” if he had to rely on UK labour as the industry seeks clarity on how to source workers post-Brexit.</h2>
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<div id="1.6917110" class="object-465"> <em>James Foskett wouldn't be able to continue with his organic operation without his overseas seasonal workforce Picture: JAMES FOSKETT</em></div>The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) is calling on the government to explain how fruit, vegetable and flower growers in the UK will be able to recruit seasonal pickers next year.
Its industry-wide survey showed that despite the widely publicised Pick for Britain campaign, UK residents still made up only 11% of the workforce this year.
MORE – Grower hopes eastern Europeans laid off from other sectors may help to plug UK-wide hole in seasonal farm workforce
James Foskett — owner of Foskett Farms, near Woodbridge, which grows a range of crops including onions, potatoes, carrots and a range of organic produce — said this year the farm had welcomed between 5% and 10% casual seasonal workers from the UK at any one time.
“Some are quite good workers for going on graders or harvesters on hourly rates but no good for weeding or picking vegetables on piece rates because they can’t do enough in an hour to earn the minimum wage and so we have to make the wages up,” he said.
“If we had to rely on UK workers our organic business would finish overnight. We just desperately hope we are given an allocation of seasonal workers from Eastern Europe either from the European Union (EU) or not.”
The NFU’s Horticulture Seasonal Worker Survey 2020 was completed by 244 horticultural growers recruiting more than 30,000 people — which equates to just under 50% of the workforce.
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NFU vice president Tom Bradshaw — who farms at Fordham, near Colchester — said workers from outside the Uk were “absolutely vital” to the horticultural sector especially as the industry had ambitions to grow more fruit and vegetables.
“We are at a critical time in recruitment for many growers. As freedom of movement ends on December 31, those growers of iconic British daffodils, asparagus, and soft fruits still don’t know where they will recruit experienced workers from.
“The Pick for Britain campaign was a great initiative, and many have suggested we could continue to recruit a domestic workforce for the coming 2021 season and beyond. While there was a fantastic response from Brits to the call for domestic workers this year in extraordinary circumstances, we see from the survey results that they only made up 11% of the workforce. Seasonal work on farm simply isn’t a viable solution for many.
“What we’re asking of them is huge. In reality it means people needing to work in very rural areas, away from their homes and families, where they will only have guaranteed work for between three and six months.”
The survey showed first-time UK resident workers stayed for nine and a half weeks on average, compared to just over 14 weeks for first-time non-UK workers and 18 weeks for returnee non-UK workers.
“Understandably, these workers continued to look for work closer to home, meaning many left farms part way through their contract and leaving growers having to re-recruit, which impacted on overall productivity levels and increased production costs.”
The situation was “easily solved” with the implementation of a seasonal worker scheme, building upon the pilot scheme that has already operated successfully for the past two seasons.
“If this is not in place by the beginning of the year, we would be the only developed country in the world without such a scheme. It would seem remarkable for the government to take such a gamble when it will hit UK businesses at a time when economic recovery is paramount. I call on government to act now, support our ambitions to lead a horticultural revolution in this country, growing the food that is so critical as part of a healthy diet, and ensure growers have an experienced workforce recruited in time to see this ambition become a reality.”
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The National Secular Society has urged the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) to ensure children’s rights in the UK are not undermined by religion.
The call came in a submission to the committee as it begins its periodic examination of children’s human rights in the UK.
The committee monitors the progress of member states’ implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Education and children’s rights
The report filed by the NSS raised concerns relating to the undermining of children’s rights in faith schools and throughout state education.
It highlighted widespread discrimination against children, some stemming from religious exceptions to equality legislation, including concerns around:
The report also drew the committee’s attention to severe breaches of children’s rights in religious schools, including unregistered faith schools that operate outside of the law.
The submission expressed alarm at the “unacceptably slow” shift away from religiously segregated schooling in Northern Ireland, where just seven per cent of children attend integrated schools.
It urged the UN to press the UK to phase out religiously segregated state-funded schools in NI and to ensure every child in the UK has the right to access a local publicly-funded secular school.
Forced genital cutting
The submission also expressed concern over the failure to address the forced genital cutting of boys.
The committee has previously recommended that the UK ensure “no one is subjected to unnecessary medical or surgical treatment during infancy or childhood” and “guarantee bodily integrity” – but only in relation to female genital mutilation and intersex surgery.
The NSS submission called for protections from non-therapeutic genital cutting to apply to all children equally, regardless of sex.
Child sexual abuse in religious institutions
The NSS also highlighted serious failings to protect children from sexual abuse in religious settings.
It called on the CRC to recommend the UK adopts a new mandatory reporting law, requiring those in positions of trust toward children or vulnerable adults to report suspected physical or sexual abuse to the appropriate civil authorities.
Comment
NSS chief executive Stephen Evans said: “Too often the individual rights of children are relegated or ignored when they clash with the interests of religious communities.
“We hope this examination compels all governments in the UK to better protect and promote children’s best interests and human rights where religious interests stand in the way of their realisation.”
Notes
Photo by Toan Nguyen on Unsplash.
Nagorno-Karabakh, EU Bishops appeal for intensifying multilateral peace efforts
COMECE calls on the European Union to actively engage for peace in the Nagorno Karabakh region and provide concrete assistance to communities affected by recent flare-up of violence between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Since the end of September 2020, the Nagorno Karabakh has been repeatedly experiencing renewed waves of violence, leading to the loss of lives of many civilians and to the destruction of homes, basic infrustructures and places of worship.
COMECE expresses concerns about the situation in the south Caucasus, currently marked by fragile truces interrupted by armed clashes, causing not only grave material damage, but also spiritual suffering.
In recent weeks, Pope Francis has addressed several appeals to the parties in conflict “to stop the shedding of innocent blood and engage in sincere negotiations with the help of the international community”.
While joining Pope Francis’ prayers for a lasting peace in the region, COMECE welcomes the humanitarian assistance provided by the European Commission to cover the needs of civilians affected by the conflict, and calls on the EU to actively contribute to the OSCE-led negotiation efforts involving all conflict parties and regional stakeholders.
In this context, Fr. Manuel Barrios Prieto, General Secretary of COMECE, appeals on the EU to ensure the protection of places of worship and the safety of all local communities. In the medium and long term, COMECE also enourages the EU to promote integral human development and a strategy on empowering people – especially the youth – at all levels of political, social and economic life in the region.
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Jagannath University (JnU) student Tithy Sarker has been sued under the Digital Security Act for making “derogatory” comments about religion on Facebook.
Abu Musa Rifat, a student of the university’s zoology department, filed the case with the Cyber Tribunal in Dhaka today, Shamim Al Mamun, bench assistant of the tribunal, confirmed to The Daily Star.
After a hearing, Judge Mohammad Ash Sams Joglul Hossain took the case into cognisance and recorded the complainant’s statements.
The court also instructed the Cyber Crime Investigation Division of the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of police to investigate the matter and submit a report to it by December 8.
Read more: ‘Derogatory’ Comments on Religion: Suspended JnU student ‘missing’ for 4 days
On a recent country visit to Turkey at the invitation of Minister of Health Dr Fahrettin Koca, WHO Regional Director for Europe Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge delivered a keynote address at the Health Scientific Board of the Turkic Council and spoke with Mr Baghdad Amreyev, Secretary General of the Turkic Council.
The Regional Director’s visit also offered the opportunity to visit WHO/Europe’s new geographically dispersed office (GDO) in Istanbul, which will be a centre of excellence for preparedness for humanitarian and health emergencies.
Earlier this year, WHO/Europe and Turkey’s Ministry of Health signed an agreement to establish the new GDO focusing on preparedness for humanitarian and health emergencies. Dr Kluge met with Deputy Minister of Health Professor Emine Alp Meşe and expressed his thanks to the Ministry for their support in establishing the GDO.
Dr Kluge reiterated that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the real and lasting impact of health emergencies on health systems. He spoke of the importance of ensuring that countries have the necessary capacities to prepare for health emergencies. The GDO will be a regional centre for such capacity-building and training.
Emergency preparedness is strongly emphasized under the European Programme of Work (EPW), United Action for Better Health, which envisages protecting more people from health emergencies as one of its core priorities. This will also contribute to the triple-billion goals highlighted in WHO’s 13th General Programme of Work.
In his keynote speech at the fourth meeting of the Health Scientific Board of the Turkic Council, Dr Kluge stressed the importance of subregional networks like the Turkic Council, which help coordination on health security threats such as COVID-19. In addition, Dr Kluge spoke of the need for greater understanding how health and livelihoods interlink, and emphasized how decisive measures taken early to control the pandemic will, in the long run, benefit the economy.
The meeting also provided an opportunity to speak with other health ministers, including Dr Alexey Tsoy of Kazakhstan, Dr Alymkadyr Beyshenaliev of Kyrgyzstan and Dr Alisher Shadmanov of Uzbekistan.
Central to WHO’s work in countries, partners play a vital role in improving health care. Dr Kluge met with Ms Alanna Armitage, Regional Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). He thanked UNFPA for their collaboration during the COVID-19 pandemic and recognized ongoing work between the agencies, including an agreement and joint work plan on the implementation of the WHO European Action Plan on Sexual and Reproductive Health in countries of eastern Europe and central Asia. Dr Kluge and Ms Armitage spoke about the importance of sexual and reproductive health and maternal health to both agencies, adding that a new action plan should be planned together between WHO/Europe and UNFPA.
In a separate set of meetings, Dr Kluge spoke with Ms Gwi Yeop Son of the United Nations Development Coordination Office (UNDCO) about possible areas for collaboration with the opening of the new GDO in Istanbul. The meeting also offered the chance to highlight the implementation of the EPW, which regards partnerships with other United Nations agencies as an important part of success. The discussions covered how WHO/Europe and UNDCO can work together to ensure that any potential COVID-19 vaccine is rolled out smoothly in countries of Europe and central Asia.
During the visit, an earthquake struck Izmir and affected other parts of Turkey as well as neighbouring Greece. The Regional Director expressed his condolences to the Turkish authorities and offered WHO/Europe’s support. The WHO Country Office in Turkey immediately mobilized a response to support partners in the Ministry of Health as well as the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency of Turkey (AFAD).
/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/europe/2020/11/05/eu-negotiators-clinch-deal-tying-rule-of-law-to-fund-access/FS106-115_2020_120902.jpg?w=696&resize=696,0&ssl=1 "Remarks by Commissioner Gentiloni at the press conference on the Autumn 2020 Economic Forecast")
European Commission Speech Brussels, 05 Nov 2020 Let me begin by thanking DG ECFIN and my team for their efforts.
It is not easy to have solid forecasts in such an uncertain situation.
We have with five key me…
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