Key workers offered free cruises with Royal Caribbean - how to get tickets

 Royal Caribbean is offering free cruises to key workers in the UK to thank them for their efforts during the COVID pandemic.

The cruise firm has announced that 999 rooms will be allocated to personnel from the emergency services, NHS, social care sector, and Armed Forces, with the firm’s Anthem of the Seas ship sailing from Southampton from 7 July 2021.

It will operate ocean cruises as well as voyages around the UK coastline visiting destinations such as Liverpool, Belfast and the Orkney Islands.

All crew will be fully vaccinated.

How do I apply?

Workers who want to apply for the voyages must register on the cruise line’s website to enter a ballot.

Royal Caribbean chief executive Michael Bayley said: “The UK is a place we hold near and dear to our heart at Royal Caribbean. We miss our UK guests and are as eager as they are to get back to cruising from Southampton.

“We are delighted with the UK Government’s recent announcements regarding cruising and excited to set sail again with a phenomenal ship and favourite such as Anthem of the Seas,” he added.

“After a tough year, we all need a holiday, but no one more so than the emergency services, NHS, social care sector and armed forces who will have the long-awaited opportunity to get away and relax with total peace of mind.”

Story taken from Oxford mail

Show your support for an NHS pay rise

Today, Thursday 1 April is #NHSPayDay. Put a colourful rainbow poster in your window to support a proper pay rise for all NHS workers.

UNISON has commissioned children's illustrators to design some templates to colour in – you can download them here!

People across the country are being asked to put colourful posters in their windows in support of a proper NHS pay rise, in a campaign launched today (Friday) by health unions representing more than a million health workers.

Fourteen unions – including UNISON, the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Midwives – are urging households across the UK to show their appreciation for NHS workers with bright, hand-finished displays on Thursday 1 April.

The unions say this will show the public strength of feeling on the day NHS staff should have received a wage increase and be a welcome ‘thank you’ for all their tireless efforts over the past year to keep everyone safe.

Lets all do our part to protect the NHS

 

Do it for your grandparents

 

HEARTUNIONS week is here

The NHS Long Term Plan: progress and a way forward

NHS England has published the new NHS Long Term Plan, setting out a vision for the future of the NHS in England – including healthcare provision and outcomes to be achieved.

As advertised, the plan includes, for the first time, new commitments to prevention and mental health, and is also the first plan that goes well beyond the current political terms indicating a shift towards more strategic, visionary and investment-based thinking.

Understanding the future of mental health care as defined by the Plan requires understanding how the changes in the healthcare system will more generally impact on mental health.

And there are three important reasons to be optimistic, to find out more click here

Get help with winter fuel bills

UNISON members living on a low income constantly struggle to make ends meet – and this can be particularly acute in the winter when the cost of heating homes rises as the outside temperature falls.

But it’s not all bad news – help IS available. The union’s welfare charity There for You has once more set up a limited fund to help members on low incomes towards the cost of their winter fuel bill through a one-off payment of £60.

The process is very similar to previous years and an amount of money has been ring-fenced to support this initiative. However, once it’s gone it’s gone! 

So don’t miss out. Apply early and send your form and supporting paperwork in as soon as possible. All the information you need can be found below. Alternatively, contact UNISON Direct on 0800 0857 857 for a form to be sent to you. 

Just one more thing: please don’t keep details of this grant a secret. Help us to help even more members and let your work colleagues know that help is at hand. There will be many, like you, worrying about how they will cope this winter. 

Completed applications need to be sent to There for You, (WFG) UNISON Centre, 130 Euston Road, London, NW1 2AY by Friday 15 February 2019 at the latest.

Winter Fuel Grant application form

Winter Fuel Grant Q&A

Pride Parade in Cymru, all are welcome!