- The petition has now gathered 64,000 signatures
The public continue to expect more from their political leaders and as more people are beginning to show their disgust at the way in which the crisis has been handled by the coalition government in Spain over 64,000 people have now signed a petition on change.org demanding that they relinquish their salaries and donate it to the fight against coronavirus.
The petition organiser, Pedro Luis Ordoñez Benitez, said “The money from our taxes should be used for the acquisition of medical supplies at which the government has failed.”
This Change.org petition has had two key surges since it was posted on the web. The first occurred after it became public that many large companies were going to apply ERTE (temporary loss of jobs) in their companies because of the coronavirus when Benitez posted, “Our politicians should stand in solidarity with the fact that thousands of people are going to see their income depleted and, in some cases, they will have none due to the ERTE and ERE that will be carried out during this period.”
The second surge came after it was published that the rapid coronavirus tests bought by the Government from China were not working properly.
Many Valencian businessmen had already requested that wages be lowered for politicians and government officials. The president of the regional textile association said that half of the salaries of public employees should be donated to the health crisis.
The serious situation of shortages of masks and other protective elements that make up the individual protection kits (PPE) for health workers has caused many companies, institutions, NGOs and groups to join together to donate all kinds of material for those who are risking their lives on a daily basis in the fight against Covid-19.
BBVA, Iberdrola, Inditex, Santander and Telefónica are just some of the companies that have joined together in donating essential materials to health officials.
There is also a similar petition gaining popularity in Spain demanding that the former King, Juan Carlos I “donates to public health the many millions of euros being held by him in an offshore account that he received from Saudi Arabia.”
Argentine striker and FC Barcelona captain, Leo Messi, confirmed on Monday that Barcelona players have accepted a 70 percent pay cut as long as the coronavirus situation continues.
He said that this will enable all of the club’s employees continue to collect one hundred percent of their salary.
Details of the petition demanding that politicians relinquish their salaries can be found at: http://chng.it/7wKpcp2c4W
