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Recent economic data paints a troubling picture for the UK, indicating that the nation’s economic struggles are exacerbated by a growing number of individuals unable to work due to long-term illness. The reasons behind this trend are varied, with factors such as long Covid, NHS treatment delays, workplace practices, stress, and the lingering effects of austerity contributing to the problem. The economic impact of widespread ill health poses challenges for policymakers, with potential implications for Jeremy Hunt and, if she assumes the role, Rachel Reeves as the first female chancellor. Businesses, already contending with recruitment challenges, find themselves grappling with...

Illinois state education administrators celebrated academic progress in 2023, but student achievement is still behind where it was before COVID-19 hit. Chronic absenteeism remained high. Enrollment dropped again. Illinois state education administrators are celebrating “strong progress” for Illinois students as proficiency in both reading and math increased between 2022 and 2023... But what remained consistent was fewer students were performing at or above grade level in 2023 than prior to the pandemic. The data shows only 35% of students could read at grade level in 2023. Only 27% met proficiency in math. Illinois Superintendent of Education Tony Sanders said the...

In order to encourage American workers to get vaccinated, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has suspended the legal requirement for employers to report work-related injuries resulting from vaccinations aimed at combating the CCP virus that causes the disease COVID-19. This suspension of the law by OSHA does not change the fact that employers may be held liable under workers’ compensation laws or under civil personal injury laws, according to the nonprofit group Liberty Counsel. Earlier in May, the website of OSHA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), stated that employers could be held liable if...

More than a third of the students in Boston public high schools were chronically absent last year, even as the city undertook additional efforts to lure students to school, according to a Globe analysis. At East Boston High School, half of the students missed at least 19 days, more than 10 percent of the school year. The rates of chronic absenteeism were even higher at Brighton High, Charlestown High, and Dorchester Academy. Across the city, 7,400 high school students were chronically absent. The figures illustrate the enormous challenges most local high schools face in keeping students in class, and more...

... At schools in the city and across the United States, chronic absenteeism is affecting performance, particularly among children from poor families. Absenteeism costs money for school districts, because they receive no state payments for students who are not at school. It also contributes to cycles of failure in neighborhoods already facing high rates of crime and poverty. The connections between poverty, absenteeism and academic failure are evident, said Robert Balfanz, a research scientist at the Center for Social Organization of Schools at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. A 2006 study of high schools in high poverty neighborhoods with the lowest...

From the New York Times on Thursday, in an item put together with the help of a half-dozen Times reporters ("Inaction and Delays by New York as Storm Bore Down"): ... Harry Nespoli, president of the Uniformed Sanitationmen’s Association, said the problems late Sunday (during the initial stages of the northeast snowstorm -- Ed.) underscored how the city could not rely on outside contractors to help with snow removal and other jobs in such storms, particularly during a holiday weekend. “You can never count on the privates, because they don’t have to show up,” he said. “What obligation do they...

A RECORD 500,000 workers took a sickie yesterday to celebrate Australia Day and have earned the reputation of "un-Australian bums". The four-day weekend some Australians have given themselves has cost the nation about $250 million. And another 100,000 are expected to take tomorrow off as they wake with Australia Day hangovers. Absenteeism management firm Direct Health Solutions' director Paul Dundon said many workers found themselves in an unfortunate situation this week with the return of school on Thursday and a public holiday mid-week.

Nara mayor didn't act on staff's absenteeism The Yomiuri Shimbun Nara Mayor Akira Fujiwara was aware that an employee of the municipal government's sanitation section had worked only eight days over the past five years but failed to take proper action in the case, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. According to sources, the mayor learned about the absenteeism case in April but left the matter unresolved without speaking to the employee, who resigned on Oct. 11, or taking other measures. The mayor reportedly said he heard details about the case from another employee and thought it was inexcusable, adding he...

$10 million spent annually by district for classroom subs... Driven by parental concerns about teacher absenteeism, the Chicago Public Schools for the first time will start scrutinizing schools with high numbers of teachers taking sick days. On any given school day in Chicago, an average of 1,500 teachers, about 6 percent of the teaching staff, call in sick or take a personal day, according to a Tribune analysis of teacher payroll records. The absentee rate is highest on Fridays, when an average of 1,800 teachers don't show... For each of the last six school years, Chicago teachers missed an average...

MBTA officials say rampant absenteeism is hurting bus and subway service, discouraging riders, and eating away at the agency's finances by forcing it to pay overtime. ...about 35 percent of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's roughly 6,000 employees were absent for 11 or more days in 2004, and 16 percent were absent 26 or more days. Khalida Smalls, coordinator for the watchdog group called the T Riders Union, said yesterday that excessive absenteeism directly affects passengers. ''People stand at their bus stop at 4:45 waiting for a bus that doesn't show up," ...

For some in the tech industry, the chance to see Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith in its opening couple of days is just not something they're willing to pass up—at any cost. And while that early viewing may be a badge of honor for geeks around the world, the "Star Wars flu" may pull down productivity figures, analysts warned. "There's nothing like being here for the first showing," said an IT manager for a financial brokerage firm on Wednesday, while standing in line in front of the Metreon theater complex in San Francisco. He had called in...

There are those for whom "Star Wars" is just a movie. For others, it's a destination to a galaxy far, far away - from the office. With all the buildup and hype, some workplace experts are anticipating a flood of absenteeism in the wake of the opening of "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith," the latest installment in the trilogy, which opened in theaters at 12:01 a.m. today. That's because the epic science fiction series hasn't just attracted fans, it's created fanatics. People like Renee Link, 30, who five years ago requested time off for future "Star...

Chris Mathews just stated that Cheney and Edwards have met prior to tonight Evidently they met at a prayer breakfast. The only reference I can find to this might be this link http://edwards.senate.gov/press/prayer_breakfast_2002.html

"I voted for the war, before I voted against it," John Kerry admitted. Fast forward to the Larry King show and Kerry admitted that he was not yet briefed on national security issues. Kerry stated that he was too busy for a national security briefing. "Well, I haven't been briefed yet, Larry. They have offered to brief me. I just haven't had time," Kerry explained. Then, last week, there was some talk in Washington about the possibility of postponing the presidential election in case of a significant terrorist attack on the United States. Suddenly, Kerry found the time to make...

JEDDAH, 23 December 2003 — Sixty-nine percent of civil servants in the Kingdom stay away from work without a good reason while 54 percent come to work late, according to a recent study by the Institute of Public Administration. Among the study’s more striking revelations was that the heads of departments rarely check if their staff keep their working hours, Al-Madinah Arabic daily reported yesterday. Of those who came to work late, 39.4 percent were 15 minutes late, 24.1 percent 30 minutes, 17.8 percent just under an hour and 18.7 percent for more than an hour, the study said. Employees...