Workers

Professionals from across Europe urge MEPs to reject plans, saying ‘climate of fear’ could stop people seeking careMore than 1,100 healthcare professionals from across Europe have urged MEPs to reject proposed measures aimed at increasing the deportation of undocumented people, warning they could threaten public health by transforming essential public services, including hospitals, into sites of immigration enforcement.The draft plans, which are due to go to a vote on Thursday, have been in the works since last March, when the European Commission laid out its proposal to target people with no legal right to stay in the EU, including potentially sending them to offshore centres in non-EU countries. Continue reading...

Workers are ‘in the middle of chaos from political games’ as Senate Republicans try to negotiate with Democrats to reopen DHSSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxWorkers with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are reeling from the White House’s deployment of immigration law enforcement into airports as TSA workers enter their sixth week without pay as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown continues.Over 400 TSA workers have quit since the shutdown began in February, with major US airports reporting high call-out rates among workers, leading to longer security wait times. On Sunday, over, 3,450 TSA officers called out of work, with as many as 40% of officers at some airports calling out that day, according to DHS data. Continue reading...

• House Republicans are advancing a resolution this week to affirm support for over 100,000 DHS employees, including 50,000 TSA frontline workers, unpaid for 37 days due to Democrats' refusal to fund the department. • The shutdown has led to $1 billion in monthly unpaid wages, coinciding with elevated terror threats including recent attacks in Texas, New York, Michigan, and Virginia, and FBI warnings of lone wolf attackers and sleeper cells. • Republicans highlight over 10 million illegal immigrants entering under Biden from 160 countries, including 400 on the Terrorist Watch List caught at borders, arguing the shutdown endangers national security.

Medics and officials say there is systematic use of double-tap strikes in campaign to make the south uninhabitableLebanese healthcare workers and officials say Israeli bombings have deliberately targeted medical workers and facilities in south Lebanon, including through the use of double-tap strikes, in what they describe as a systematic effort to make the area unlivable.Since the war began on 2 March, Israel has struck at least 128 medical facilities and ambulances across south Lebanon, killing 40 healthcare workers and wounding 107, according to the Lebanese ministry of health. The war started when Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel, triggering an Israeli military campaign. Continue reading...

• Federal data reveals the National Institutes of Health has lost about 4400 employees, representing 20% of its workforce, during President Donald Trump's second term due to cuts in staff and research funding. • Former NIH scientists warn the exodus could lead to fewer biomedical breakthroughs, weaker responses to disease outbreaks, and diminished U.S. public health crisis management. • KFF Health News correspondent Rachana Pradhan discussed the brain drain on WAMU’s Health Hub on March 18, 2026, with departing D.C.-area workers citing tumult as a key factor for early quits or retirements.

Chair Heather Hallett says pandemic had devastating impact due to NHS being in ‘parlous state’ at timeThe NHS “teetered on the brink of collapse” during the Covid pandemic, and only just coped thanks to the “superhuman” efforts of healthcare workers, an official inquiry has concluded.In a damning assessment of how the UK’s healthcare systems coped with the pandemic, the Covid-19 inquiry chair, Heather Hallett, said the impact was “devastating” due to the NHS being in a “parlous state” before the outbreak of the virus.The NHS entered the pandemic with low bed numbers, high numbers of staff vacancies and high bed occupancy, meaning it was already in a “precarious position” and ill-prepared to deal with a pandemic.There was not enough PPE at the start of the pandemic, meaning healthcare workers had to put themselves and their families at risk to care for patients.Infection control in the early stages of the pandemic was flawed as it assumed Covid-19 was spread by physical contact, rather than being airborne.The “stay home, protect the NHS, save lives” public message may have inadvertently led to a decline in hospital attendance of life-threatening emergencies such as heart attacks.80% of healthcare professionals said they acted in a way that conflicted with their values during the pandemic, with some saying they felt they were “playing God” as they were unable to give everyone the treatment they needed. Continue reading...

• Iranian rescue workers are conducting daily recovery operations amid a relentless barrage of US and Israeli air strikes across Tehran, with local authorities reporting over 1,300 deaths. • Rescue team members report working 2 to 10 call-outs per day since the war began, risking secondary explosions while extracting bodies—including children—from rubble. • The Iranian Red Crescent Society workers face severe psychological trauma and show no signs of respite as strikes continue with no prospect of de-escalation.