Unison has called for a 1-minutes silence to honour the health, care and other key workers who have died after contracting COVID-19.
So far, 57 health care workers alone have died after contracting COVID-19.
Unison, along with the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Midwives, has asked the country to observe the 1-minutes silence that will be held on Tuesday 28th April at 11 am.
The three organisations collectively represent more than one million NHS and public service workers, including porters, refuse collectors and care staff.
They have urged politicians, employers and people at work and those on lockdown at home to join in with the tribute.
A spokesperson for Unison said:
“The minute’s silence – held on International Workers’ Memorial Day – will allow everyone to pay their respects and give thanks for the lives of those whose work involved caring, saving lives, keeping key services running and the rest of the country safe”.
The tribute is also intended to act as a show of support for the families of those who have died.
Over 16,000 people in the UK alone have now died after contracting COVID-19. The total figure of worldwide deaths is 166,918 (WHO).
The total number of lab-confirmed cases in the UK, where testing has taken place, is 120,076. On 19th April, 596 people died of COVID-19.
Emergency Servies News has set up an event reminder on social media that can easily be shared with your friends and family to remind them of the mark of respect. To access the event, CLICK HERE.
Talking about the minute’s silence, UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said:
“This is the ultimate tribute to remember workers who’ve lost their lives and put themselves in harm’s way to keep us safe and vital services running. Every year the sacrifice of workers around the world is recognised, but this year has a special significance because of the pandemic.
“Thousands of key staff are on the frontline while the rest of us are in lockdown. That’s why we’ve issued this call for the whole country to take part and remember the sacrifices they’ve made. The best tribute we can all pay them is to stay inside to protect the NHS.
“The minute’s silence is a thank you to all the workers including nurses, midwives, cleaners and care staff who’ve died from this devastating virus.”
Royal College of Nursing general secretary and chief executive Donna Kinnair said:
“We’ve become used to hearing a great roar on a Thursday night for key workers, but this respectful silence will be a poignant reminder of the risks they run to keep us safe.
“I hope the public gets behind this with the same affection they show when applauding our people.
“The silence is a simple show of respect for those who have paid the very highest price, but their loved ones must know the levels of gratitude we feel as a nation and take some comfort from that.”
Royal College of Midwives chief executive and general secretary Gill Walton said:
“We had expected 2020 to be a celebration of the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife but, although we actively applaud their service, this is not what we had imagined.
“Instead, across the country, midwives and maternity support workers are seeing the impact of coronavirus not only on the women in their care but on their colleagues as well.
“We are proud to join UNISON and the RCN in this campaign and to recognise and remember those who we have lost.”
The campaign hashtag for the minute’s silence is #NeverForgotten.
TODAY’S TOP VIDEO
CLICK here to join our Emergency Services News community on Facebook.
Our social media group/community is open to both the public and emergency services personnel.
It is also a great place to share any emergency services related content (such as videos) which you have filmed.
If you have a story or video that you would like us to cover/share, then you can contact our team via contact@emergency-services.news
Before you go...
We need your help. As former emergency services & armed forces personnel, we pride ourselves on bringing you important, fast-moving and breaking news stories which are free from the negative bias which is often directed at the emergency services by some sections of the mainstream media.
One of the reasons we started 'Emergency Services News' was because we became tired of reading badly informed stories about the emergency services which seemed only ever to highlight negative aspects of the job.
We want to be the unheard voice of the remarkable men and women who serve in the emergency services, NHS and armed forces. And with around 500k page views each month, we are getting there!
As income from ads, the mainstay source of income for most publishers, continues to decline; we need the help of our readers.
And remember, if you have a service, product or job vacancy that you would like to promote to our large readership, then you can buy advertising space in our articles.
You can support emergency services news from as little as £1. It only takes a minute. Every contribution, however big or small, is vital for our future.
Please help us to continue to highlight the life-saving work of the emergency services, NHS and armed forces by becoming a supporter.
