♪ ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: pediatric surgeon. volunteer. topiary artist. a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life well planned. brook: these are people who are trying to change the world. startups have this energy that energizes me. i'm thriving by helping others everyday. people who know, know bdo.

naator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. announcer: and now, "bbc news". >> hello. this is the context. >> this new payoff without the strike action taken by ambulance and health workers across the nhs. >> they do not want to take strike action. none of us want to disrupt education or parents' working lives. >> our four unions want nothing more than to sit down and negotiate. >> it feels like were for my sit

this government wants education on the cheap. >> welcome to the program. in the age of discontent, more strikes in the u.k. civil servants out today, nurses on sunday. on the upside, the gmb and unite, two of the biggest health unions have accepted the government's payoff. where does this leave us and where do we compare with europe? the story of a paralympian who has just been hired by the european space agency. we will have an interview wh the leader of the militia and we talk to one of the lead scriptwriters on the late-night show. before all that, it is time to pick our way through today's mixed bag of announcements on

industrial action. the good news for the government is the gmb who represents ambulance workers have accepted and nhs payoff. and yet earlier in the day, members rejected it as members of the college of nursing will strike through monday. . elsewhere, the teachers go on strike next week for the third consecutive month. today, the head teacher said they're looking for action and coordinate with three other teaching unions. on the railways, members of the union the represent train drivers will strike may 12, may 31 and june 3. the teachers said the government is treating public sector workers with content. here is our education editor. >> sheriff. >> this primary school has --

protecting the children from any disruption. one teachers union is already taking industrial action. now, head teachers will be ballasted too. >> i will not the diet it is a challenge balancing my need to keep school open with my desire to support my colleagues. i would rather this than have their voices stifled. >> a union meeting this weekend has never gone out on strike in england. now they are promising to work with other teaching unions. the teacher spelled out when a yes vote might mean. >> school closures to make the point. education needs to be valued more by this government. it is the only way we can get government to pay attention is by taking this action. >> working parents hearing this will be tearing their hair out. > of course there will. parents also know education

delivered to their children right now should be so much better. >> the leaders of all four teaching unions in england spoke together today. >> it feels like from where i sit, this is a government that wants education on the cheap. >> a yes vote by union members would escalate this dispute, raising the prospects of strikes closing schools in the autumn. this is a calculated move by the unions to put pressure on the government. the government says its pay offer is fair and reasonable and an independent panel of experts will now look at next year. an extended series of strikes will mean teachers losing money. >> we are looking around 80 pounds a day that we lose out on, could be more, could be less. i have chosen to take part in the day strikes. >> at this school so far, parent

said they were sympathetic. >> we need the government to put the government to put their hands in their pocket and pay what is needed so teachers can work more comfortably at doing what they do best. >> me, personally, impacted by the school. >> the cash for each child in england schools is going up. teachers pay comes out of the school budget. expect more about whether there is enough money. >> how do we compare? is england the outlier or other governments facing similar pressures in meeting the demands of key public sector workers? the general secretary of the belgian trade union and also vice president of the european trades union confederation, thank you for being with us. when you look at the scale and size of the strikes we are facing in england, are we unique

or do you see a similar situation across europe? >> there is a similar situation. people do not feel respected. they want to pay raise, social protection, good working conditions. in the netherlands, germany, belgium, france, people are making themselves heard and organizing strikes. >> across france, italy, germany, spain, governments are grappling with debt and inflation. the markets react when governments take decisions. is there an argument for governments being much more careful at the moment given the inflation problem when they are deciding on what you pay public sector workers? >>ublic sector workers are doing their best to give good services to the people. you need to invest inhat. that you can grow, give children

and future. you can give good health care to the people, which is really necessary. we saw it during covid times. however, we still see there is a lot of money. taxation systems do not really exist and not on the european level. the wealth is still going to the ranch and the rich are getting richer and the people do not accept that anymore. >> do you think we need a conversation in all european countries about how public sector workers are treated and paid? >> of course. from our point of view, why did a lot of you vote for brexit? in the national health service, there was an investment and they were told there would be more money for investment in the national health service. then they got to brexit and the money is not there. that y have the covid crisis and the energy crisis and people

are getting poorer and people do not accept it anymore. that is why there are a lot of strikes, protests and people getting their voice heard and will not accept to continue like this. wealth should be on a base of solidarity distributed to everyone and not just a few. >> i am still trying to get a handle. on the continent, across so many different industries. i have just said for the audience, civil service personnel, passport personnel, border guards, railway workers, you name it, all public sector workers in england at the moment have a gripe overpay. is it the same in europe? >> you have germany, there were strikes in the airport business. in our country, strikes in the

prisons because people are incarcerated in really bad conditions because there is not a lot of -- not enough money. they are putting money in the private companies and private companies are giving money to the shareholders. people do not accept it anymore. that is why governments with public funds need to invest in public services so everyone can have benefits from that. >> is there the same problem with retention and recruitment? >> y. after covid, we saw there is a lot of problems in the health service. it is a really tough job but is a caring job and people are proud of the work. but they need compensation for that. still, an essential job is not getting paid its real value and that is what i think in the u.k. -- >> problems t appeared to be

the same. it is the same cost-of-living crisis, the same poor pay. do any countries have a different approach to the problem? >> we try in our country to have a mechanism that gives us a pay raise that follows the cost of living but it is not enough. it is kind of a compensation but it is not enough. we see shareholders are getting more and more money and it is not going into the pay raise or neither the social protection system. when pple have a setback, they should have good pension income. this should have social prottion income when they are unemployed.

there should be a good benefit. we do not want people to fall into poverty because they have a setback. there is enough money going around. with taxation, rich people should have a lot more taxation and with that money government should invest in the people, in the public services. that is how you go forward. in belgium, we have protest movements. we have strikes. we want to have a national manifestation at the end of may. every time we are going to make our voice heard because of the people stand together and change things and get things going and get things better for the people. >> lovely to talk to you. thank you very much. >> you are welcome. >> the problems in the same across the continent. let's hone in on the health services. the gnb and unison both accepted

the pay off or given by the government. let's bring in our health editor. two unions, unite and the royal college of nursing have not adopted the pay deal. where does that leave morale within the service? >> it is a complex situation because of divided opinions among health unions. a few different unions across the national health service representing different professions. it does seem as if a majority of them, their members are accepting the pay deal. england is facing on a pay raise. a one-off payment. that still leaves a substantial majority that do not like it and say they will carry on with industrial actions. on the one hand, you have the gnb and unison, who are big unions repsenting many hospital workers, ambulance

staff who have accepted it and you have the royal college of nursing who have rejected it, along with unite, who have nurses and others. the radiographers have rejected it. it all goes into a union committee, health unions that tell the secretary of state whether there is a majority in favor. if there is, he will pay out this pay deal and some unions will continue to be in dispute. if there is not a majority, here you -- he reserves the right to not pay it out then it goes to a different avenue. it is a very difficult time in terms of morale and feeling about pay in the nhs, in england. there is a strike by the royal college of nursing beginning sunday evening, covering all forms of care until monday evening. >> there is a very active debate, not just in england.

it is a similar debate. there are people who do not want to pay more in taxes. they think they already pay too much in taxes and have to grapple with the question, do we pay more so that we get better services? do you think that unions that have been striking for six to 12 months, do they have public sympathy? is there any polling that shows the sympathy is still there? >> majority support are going to some polls for the nurses. the junior doctors, a range of doctors below consultant level, they are continuing with their dispute. it seems to be over 50% support for them. there is a bit of public support still there, according to certain polls. whether that continues remains to be seen. the bigger issue for all health

care systems is a shortage of nurses and in some cases doctors because different health care systems are growing fast and becoming wealthier and they want more staff. there are shortages and gaps. this page route is partly to do with that. staff are saying, we want to be paid a lot more than the offer because otherwise more will leave. that is a reality. how would you hold onto staff in a pressurized situation? more stress and strain on the front line. make up for the impact of inflation. i should say in scotland, a different deal has been reached with more money on the table. apart from the doctors, that is being resolved. in wales, talks are ongoing. >> i read your report yesterday into research in this was about

the fact that england is getting sicker and poorer at the same time. we were talking to maranda about whether the needs to be a general debate about what we pay public sector workers because it is a twofold thing. there are millions of public sector workers who cannot afford to live. on the other hand, there is this question that if we do have the staff in the health service, we do not get better and do not go to work. >> that report by the think tank was interesting and noted in the u.k. life expectancy, it has stalled and come down a little bit. the economic situation has been challenging with cost-of-living increases and falling economic output. that is where the poorer and sicker line comes from. they come down on the side of more investment in community and public health so people do not

need to go to hospitals and the nhs is not under some much pressure. they are calling on governments in the u.k. to make health a real priority because it is so important to the economy and the health of the nations. there are some very interesting points. ultimately, it is taxpayers money. the nhs is taxpayer-funded. the chancellor will say there is a limit to the amount of money that is available because there are so many demands on the system. this is a society-wide debate about how much we want to pay for health. >> that is the context. lovely to talk to you. around the world and across the u.k., this is bbc news. let's take a quick look at other stories making headlines. a man has denied murdering a police sergeant, who was shot dead while on duty in south london. he was shot in the chest while he handcuffed a suspect that was

later taken into custody in september 2020. the defendant had been recovering in hospital after being shot in the neck. the prime minister said he will continue to use the english name -- the welsh national park was recently rebranded with its welsh name. the decision has been criticized. the french actress has won a high court case over her $1 million fe for a sci-fi film but never got made. she sued since she was owed the money after the film collapsed. you are watching bbc news. the deputy prime minister said u.k. evacuations from sudan will

end in 24 hours. the government said there was a significant decline in the number of british nationals coming forward. by 6:00 u.k. time tomorrow, the last flight will leave. over 1500 people have been evacuated so far. the vast majority were british nationals or eligible dependents. at least 24 sudanese doctors who work for the nhs have been stopped from boarding evacuation flights. only u.k. passport holders will be allowed to board. the cease-fire is holding but only just. the army and the rival paramilitary group have been fighting each other in a city and westar for and in a capital. my colleague who is of sudanese descent has been speaking to the commander of the rsf in sudan. >> thank you very much for agreeing to this interview, general.

the people of sudan, particularly in the capital, are living in an absolute ordeal. what would it take for you to allow humanitarian corridors? >> first of all, i would like to thank the bbc for the interview regarding the truths. we have been asking for it from the first day of the war. we started the humanitarian corridors straightaway. within the areas controlled by our forces. we started the truths from our side -- we started the truce from our side. our fight is on the behalf of the civilians. we have no problems with these corridors and we are helping with missions. the sudanese people acknowledge our control. we are working to help others.

we have no problem with these corridors whatsoever. >> let's talk more about that. we can speak to the former u.n. coordinator for sudan, who joins us from geneva. thank you for being with us. before we talk about the situation, can i get one thought on the british government that has taken out 1500 people. the number of people trying to get out has slowed. do you think ty have everyone out that they need to get out? >> it is extremely unlikely that everyone who needs to get out. the dependents and so on could not have gotten out. people who were working in the u.k. but did not have a passport , they are not allowed to board the aircraft. at the same time, these flights have to come to an end at some time. the situation is risky.

hopefully it will be safe enough for people to go if the need to leave. >> we just heard that exclusive interview withhe leader of the rsf, he said he is happy to facilitate the corridors. do you believe him? >> no. >> what reason do you have not to believe him? >> i have dealt with the people of his -- when i was u.n. coordinator. negotiating for access with him and his colleagues trying to get into darfur. we were given assurances and they were hardly ever kept. i think he is deeply unreliable. in any case, it is not clear

what territory he actually controls. it would be unwise to depend on his assurances. >> there are certainly some partner for peace. should they be negotiating with them? >> indeed, it is an utter shame of the european union to have done a shabby deal with the devil -- professionalize the rsf and subcontract to stop migrants coming into europe. all that did was -- we had other powers in the gulf who use them as proxies to fight.

useful combat experience. they are not of the militia anymore. the rn army. d'este ar -- they are an army. the amount of gold produced in darfur has gone up more than tenfold, over 100 tons in the last year. he is a major disruptor of the peace. it would be extremely unprincipled to work with people like him who have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. >> we are where we are. the cease-fire is holding just. one of the turkish planes coming in was hit today. that tells you how dangerous it is. it is likely the airlifts will

end tomorrow which leaves -- should the international community be looking out to help people who want to leave? are thering countries doing enough to help people get out of thebogh way n of the vioe we have seen? >> i think the operation is gearing up from the reports. many forces are operating there. so will the other countries, no doubt. i can imagine a scenario where port sudan and the areas around our declared a safe haven, protected by external forces. those who can make their way there, they would be relatively safe. >> that might well be the solution.

i am sure there are reconnaissance units looking at that. thank you very much for your time this evening. interesting talking to you. we will go to a short break and we will come back. we will talk to a writer from a program. stay with narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: financial services firm, raymond james. man: bdo. accountants and advisors. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ ♪

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♪ ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: pediatric surgeon. volunteer. topiary artist. a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life well planned. brook: these are people who are trying to change the world. startups have this energy that energizes me. i'm thriving by helping others everyday. people who know, know bdo.