Thank the NHS workforce with a medal, not a pay cut & STOP CHARGING THEM TO PARK AT WORK!

Thank the NHS workforce with a medal, not a pay cut & STOP CHARGING THEM TO PARK AT WORK!

Started
21 March 2020
Petition to
Signatures: 1,153,186Next Goal: 1,500,000
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Why this petition matters

Started by Anthony Gallagher

As a GP I am very proud to be a part of our NHSI am not at all surprised by the astonishing work and devotion that has been done to save as many lives as is humanly possible during this crisis. Its been bad, make no mistake. Over 120,000 of us have died since I started this petition. Just imagine where we would be now, were it not for our NHS workers.

 

All I asked for when I launched this page was that the government stopped the astonishing practice of charging Hospital Staff to park at work. It didn't seem a lot to ask.

Whether you call it a "pay cut" or a "Hancock Tax", everyone from the Cleaners that wipe away the germs that would kill you, to the Consultant with the skills to save your life has to pay to park at work and there have been astonishing fines levied on those staff that cannot pay. 

As with generations before ours, a small minority of our population found itself with the skill and the bravery to step up in our nation's hour of need. This is not the first time that so much is owed by so many to so few, nor will it be the last, but this was our time. It was the NHS and its workforce that stood between us and the greatest mass tragedy in generations.

The stress caused by the parking fees distracts staff, causes them to go off sick and the fines are sometimes huge. The practice degrades the value of the work they do.

In March 2020, when I started this page, people listened. After more than 415,000 people signed up, the government acted and provided fee car parking for NHS and social care staff. 

In July, Health minister Edward Argar said the government was looking at how long the support will “need” to go on. He has added the support “cannot continue indefinitely”. Soon thereafter hospitals began charging staff again.

A year down the line, the parking fees are back, the cost of parking has been increased substantially in many areas and for many, the proposed 1%  NHS "Thank You" pay adjustment wont even cover the increased cost of parking at work.

It is unkind, unsafe and unreasonable to expect exhausted NHS staff to walk home at the end of their shift, or take a pay cut for simply using their own staff car park.

The so called "Hancock Tax" is applied to NHS Hospital Staff that use staff parking as a deduction from their pay before they receive it. The parking fees can be severe. As much as £2 per hour can be deducted from the pay of NHS staff, for some that is more than 20% of their salary.

Mr Hancock, are you really sure that you want to encourage somebody that has spent their day clearing up infected body fluids to travel home on public transport?

Mr. Johnson, Mr. Hancock, Mr. Sunak, you have told us you are grateful for our efforts, and so you should be, all three of you have survived. However, your actions do not reflect your words.

If you really are as grateful as you say you are to your NHS then please;

1)  Abolish NHS Staff parking fees and fines throughout the UK

(as they are already in Wales and Scotland) immediately and forever.

2) If you cant give staff a "Thank You Pay Rise", at least adjust pay in line with inflation.

3)  PLEASE GIVE THE NHS WORKERS A MEDAL, so they have something to show for saving our lives.

 

                          Please help me fix this injustice once and for all. 

You are part of our team. Let’s work together, support the NHS and save lives.

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Signatures: 1,153,186Next Goal: 1,500,000
Support now
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