Dear Colleague
GMB is calling for our members to support the National ‘Join the NHS March’ demonstration, called for Saturday 4th March 2017
The NHS march will assemble at noon, in Tavistock Square, London, WC1 (nearest tube stations Russell Square or Euston), and proceed to Parliament.
Coaches are being organised by a number of groups from the Midlands, North West, Yorkshire, the North East & South West, so that the maximum number of people can attend. See: http://www.ournhs.info/coaches for details.
Alternatively, please contact one of the following GMB Officers for more information in your area;
Central and North London – Tony Warr, Senior Organiser or Shaun Graham, Senior Organiser on 020 8202 8272
West London – Keith Williams, Senior Organiser on 020 8573 6969
Essex and East London – Dave Powell, Senior Organiser on 01245 345165
Luton, Home Counties, Suffolk and Norfolk – Richard O’Leary, Membership Development Officer on 01582 404842
This demonstration could not have come at a more important time, when so much is at stake for the future of our NHS.
The NHS is experiencing the sharpest and most prolonged spending squeeze in its history.
Billions of pounds of government cut-backs have brought our National Health Service to breaking point. While the head of the British Red Cross has warned that the NHS is facing a “humanitarian crisis” as a result of these cuts; the Prime Minister has attempted to scapegoat Healthcare professionals, in general, and NHS staff need our support.
GMB believes that the current funding crisis within the NHS is, first and foremost, a political crisis – born out of this government’s ideologically driven austerity policies – rather than an economic one.
The plan seems to be: strip the NHS and social care services of funds and resources; ensuring that the provision of healthcare suffers; then sit back and wait while people get angry about its failings; and then brutally criticise those at work trying to keep the system afloat, before handing the NHS over (in piecemeal fashion) to private companies.
A system based on healthcare will, therefore, be replaced by a system based on nothing more than profit. GMB believes that something can, and must, be done to stop this.
Therefore, GMB is supporting the march in order to demand:
• An end to cut backs and the systematic underfunding of the NHS & Social Care
• No closures of hospitals or A&E departments
• No privatisation of the NHS & Support for NHS Staff
GMB also calls upon Government to ensure:
• The end of pay restraints for NHS staff
• A commitment to a fully-funded, publicly owned National Health & Social Care Service that recognises and supports the NHS staff.
Let us know if you will be attending the march with us by clicking Yes or No
Yours in Comradeship
Warren Kenny
London Regional Secretary
Posted: 23rd February 2017