People across the UK came together to applaud the heroic NHS workers this week.

The Government stepped out of Downing Street to applaud the NHS workers. Now we are calling the Government to show their gratitude in actions by following these steps to support ALL of the heroic workers including NHS doctors, nurses, porters, cleaners, drivers, receptionists, caterers, social workers and care home workers who are putting health of themselves and their families at risk to care for others.

1. PROTECT NHS STAFF  by increasing production of PPE, Ventilators and COVID-19 tests. PPE and COVID-19 tests must be available for all NHS and social care staff immediately.

The majority of the workforce has shutdown with huge factory lines, equipment and workers are available to be converted into producing PPE for NHS staff, making life saving ventilators and making COVID-19 tests.

25 of 27 current EU member states opted in to a join procurement of medical equipment including face masks, goggles, overalls and other equipment. The Government did not and so we are begging the Government to say YES if we are given this offer again. Do not put 'Brexit over breathing'. Support our NHS workers.

        2. Give NHS staff free car parking and public transportation for life
Last week the Government agreed to allow all NHS staff to park for free at the hospitals other places of work. Why were NHS staff ever charged to park at their place of work? NHS staff have not just started to save lives this week. Our Government's recognition of their hard work has only started this week so make staff parking free permanently. The Welsh Government will be giving NHS staff free train and bus travel. The UK Government should provide free transportation for NHS staff for life as a gratitude of their hard work and sacrifices. Support our NHS workers.

        3. INCREASE PAY by 20% to all NHS staff

Tory MPs cheered after blocking a 1% pay rise for NHS nurses in June 2017. Years of pay freezes and wage increases well below the rising cost of living meant the NHS struggled to hold on to experience staff and recruit many of those needed to fill vacancies.

A survey found that thousands of health service staff are living below the poverty line, with almost half unable to afford at least three basic everyday necessities.

        - Nearly 1/3 said they constantly struggled to pay household bills
        - 11% were falling behind on mortgages or rent
        - 17% were behind on council-tax bills
        - The majority (58%) said they could not meet an emergency expense of £500
        - 3 out of 10 said they could not afford to attend exercise classes or fund all       recommended dental work
        - 12% could not buy fresh fruit and vegetables every day
(Survey by the NHS GGC branch of trade union Unison)

UNISON has been fighting for NHS staff pay rises for years and have worked out the specifics that the Government can work with.

In the last week, billions of pounds have been pledged to big businesses with huge revenues to keep them afloat. NHS staff are putting health of themselves and their families at risk to care for others. They are doing this now and have always done this to little financial gain. This is why ALL NHS doctors, nurses, cleaners, drivers, porters, receptionists, caterers, social workers and care home workers deserve a 20% pay increase now. Support our NHS workers.

      4. Pay the £120 annual registration fee for Nurses forever & increase funding into training

Each year nurses have to pay an annual retention fee to the Nursing Midwifery Council (NMC) to maintain their professional registration in order to continue working. This current fee is £120 per year.

Retired Nurses who have stepped up to support us in this fight have been able to re-register without being charged this fee. We are facing a national crisis with our nursing numbers. We are asking our Government to step in and pay this fee for life. Support our NHS workers.

Further bursaries to nurse and medical training are needed for the NHS to expand its workforce the keep up with the current demand prior to this crisis. Reversing the axing of bursaries, brought in under David Cameron, was a good start but much more funding must be assigned.

        5. Stop Corporation Tax Dodging and invest that money in the NHS

All retailers are supposed to pay corporation tax at a rate of 19%. This is set to reduce to 17%. This is what the following companies paid in 2017:

• Cafe Nero UK Revenue: £274 million Corporation Tax: Nil
• Vodaphone UK Revenue: £6.7 billion Corporation Tax: Nil
• EE UK Revenue: £6.3 billion Corporation Tax: Nil
• VirginCare UK Revenue: £2 billion Corporation Tax: Nil
• Antofagasta UK Revenue: £3.6 billion Corporation Tax: Nil
• Amazon UK Revenue: £10.9 billion Corporation Tax: 0.04%
• Vision Express Revenue: £255 million Corporation Tax: 0.11%
• Google UK Revenue: £9.7 billion Corporation Tax: 0.6%
• EasyJet UK Revenue: £6.4 billion Corporation Tax: 0.9%
• Apple UK Revenue: £1.12 billion Corporation Tax: 1.1%
• Starbucks UK Sales: £406 million Corporation Tax: 1.9%
• McDonald’s UK Sales: £1.53 billion Corporation Tax: 3.6%
• BP Revenue: £190 billion Corporation Tax: Nil (Received in tax credits: £134 million meaning it was the net receiver of £134 million of tax money)
• Gap UK Sales: £426 million Corporation Tax: Nil (They received £110,700 in credit)
• Somerset Capital Management UK Profit: £34 million (Jacob Rees-Mogg made millions from this company) Corporation Tax: Nil
• Centrica UK Sales: £28 billion Corporation Tax: Nil (Received in tax credits: £88 million)
• Many, many other companies

These huge companies have managed to avoid paying an estimated £395 billion. The amount dodged globally each year is three times the NHS budget whilst paying dividends, bonuses and millions to its highest paid staff.

Our Government allowed this to happen.

Those who do not pay their taxes are not only guilty of a crime, but of murder: if the beds and the respirators are not there they are partly to blame. Where is the financial support for the NHS from BP, Starbucks, Google, Vodaphone, McDonalds, Apple, Dyson, Virgin? The above companies and many others who have not given into the system for years will now receive state support. Any company receiving benefits should agree to scrap any artificial tax avoidance arrangements in the future. 

The Tax Justice Network estimate that Google would have owed £1.5 billion in tax if the firm booked all UK sales here rather than apparently diverting them abroad. This would be enough to pay the NHS for 60,000 more nurses. 60,000 more NHS if Google alone payed their fair share of corporation tax.

Virgin Atlantic have 8,500 employees and Richard Branson has asked them to take 8 week unpaid leave. He could personally pay all of these staff £500 a week and his net worth would fall from 4.1 billion to 4.064 billion. That's 0.88%. Branson has paid hardly any tax, asked for a Government bailout and has sued the NHS.

We are asking that the Government puts an end to corporate tax dodging. Shareholders and CEOs benefit from the success of a business, taxpayers should not now be paying for the bailing out huge companies or airlines after years of austerity and cuts to our NHS and schools.

        6. Never underfund the NHS again & stop privatising the NHS

The total number of NHS hospital beds in England has more than halved over the past 30 years from around 299,000 in 1987 to 141,000 in 2018. In 2010 we had one of the highest numbers of emergency hospital beds in Europe. 10 years later and we have one of the lowest number of emergency beds in Europe.

Spain has nationalised its private beds while the UK is using tax payer money for UK private beds to the tune of £2.4 million every day.

According to WHO the UK had 10.7 hospital beds per 1,000 people in 1960. That number has been rapidly decreasing to 2.8 hospital beds per 1,000 in 2013.

£15 billion worth of services to the NHS have been sold off in the last 5 years. Physiotherapy, elderly care and cancer services are facing privatisation.

Stop austerity. Support our NHS workers. Support all people in the UK by supporting the NHS. Stop cutting money to the NHS and social care and look at other ways to save money. Primarily by ending corporation tax dodging.

All NHS staff are putting themselves in the danger zone, putting their own health at risk on a daily basis in extremely difficult conditions, working long hours, missing breaks, lack of correct Personal Protective Equipment, having to send children or family away or moving away from their family over fear of passing the virus to them and having difficulty in getting basic food items due to shifts. They will all be different people on the other side of this. It is only right they should receive greater recognition and have access to adequate PPE, have access to adequate resources, have their wages increased and have free parking and travel. If you still question if these heroes deserve it, just listen to the applause for the NHS again this week. Respect our NHS.

#NHS6