Category: International

Trump, the Palace & the Right to Protest

It is exactly two weeks until Donald Trump descends on Buckingham Palace in the middle of one of the most important General Elections in British history. It’s an unprecedented moment and one our movement must capitalise on.

The Metropolitan Police are trying to the restrict the route for the demonstration organised by a wide coalition of campaign groups who are planning to protest outside Buckingham Palace during a reception for NATO leaders on December 3rd. We must be allowed to make a stand outside Buckingham Palace for everything Trump can’t stand – peace, human rights, climate justice, equality, tolerance & diversity.

Join the protest: https://bit.ly/356wXAI

As the de facto leader of NATO, the largest military alliance on earth, Trump will be pushing his fellow NATO heads of state to increase military spending whilst reasserting US priorities for the organisation. Over the past couple of decades NATO has been central to the so-called War on Terror, particularly in Afghanistan and the bombardment of Libya.

Trump’s seemingly critical attitude towards NATO is designed to pass the burden of funding for the alliance onto European nations in order to strengthen its power, not lessen it. Any notion that Trump wants to pull out of NATO is absurd. NATO is a crucial arm of violent US foreign policy power and must be opposed.

Coca-Cola violates workers’ rights around the world

Coca-Cola continues to violate the fundamental rights of workers in Haiti, Indonesia, Ireland and the USA.

The International Union of Foodworkers (IUF) has launched a global online campaign to protest this — which we encourage you to support.

In Haiti, Coca-Cola’s bottler continues to systematically deny workers their right to form and be represented by a union.

In Indonesia, Coca-Cola’s bottler pursues its long running attack on the rights of independent, democratic trade unions.

In Ireland, Coca-Cola closed two of its directly owned concentrate plants, both of which were strongly unionised, and shifted production to the remaining plant in Ballina, where it refuses to engage in collective bargaining with the union.

And finally, in the USA the company’s bottler spent more than $330,000 hiring a union-busting consultant firm to persuade workers at its Greenfield bottling plant to not join the union.

Please show your support for the IUF campaign by sending a clear message to Coca-Cola CEO and Chairman James Quincey, expressing your outrage over these ongoing human rights violations and demanding that the company act to remedy them. 

Please share this message with your friends, family and fellow union members.

Coca-Cola workers fighting for their rights in Haiti, Indonesia, Ireland, and the USA still need your support

Coca-Cola continues to violate the fundamental rights of workers in Haiti, Indonesia, Ireland and the USA.
In Haiti Coke’s bottler La Brasserie de la Couronne continues to systematically deny workers their right to form and be represented by a union, SYTBRACOUR.
Haiti is a dangerous place to live and to work. Companies should, at a minimum, be alert to this situation and exercise maximum due diligence. In July 2019, a Coca-Cola truck driver was shot in his vehicle while at work. The Coca-Cola Company has made no meaningful independent investigation of this killing, choosing instead to rely on a version of events provided by their local bottler, which sought to shift blame onto the driver. Subsequent IUF investigations into this case have exonerated the driver and exposed a callous disregard for the truth on the part of the Coca-Cola bottler and The Coca-Cola Company.

In Indonesia Coca-Cola bottler Amatil pursues its long running attack on the rights of independent, democratic trade unions.

In Ireland, The Coca-Cola Company closed two of its directly owned concentrate plants, both of which were strongly unionized, and shifted production to the remaining plant in Ballina, where it refuses to engage in collective bargaining with the IUF-affiliated SIPTU.

In the USA the Company’s bottler spent more than 330,000.00 US dollars hiring a union-busting consultant firm to persuade workers at its Greenfield bottling plant to not join the RWDSU/UFCW.

Please show your support for these workers and the fight for rights in the Coca-Cola system.

CLICK HERE to send a message to Coca-Cola’s CEO and Chairman James Quincey, expressing your outrage over these ongoing human rights violations and demanding the Company act to remedy them. Your name will also be added to a petition that will be delivered to The Coca-Cola Company.

Vigil tomorrow: After 39 Tragic Deaths, Safe Passage Now

Today our thoughts and solidarity go to the 39 victims, found dead in a lorry in Essex and their families.

The 39 are the latest victims of Fortress Europe and this government’s “hostile environment” for refugees and migrants that sees people forced to turn to traffickers to escape poverty and war.

Thousands have died attempting to reach Europe, and thousands remain stranded while being denied their right to seek asylum in Britain.

Tomorrow we are holding a vigil with refugee groups Care4Calais and Safe Passage to commemorate the victims, demand safe passage for those fleeing poverty and war, and that the racist hostile environment must end.

Join us to send solidarity to the loved ones of those who died and demand immediate change to ensure such a tragedy does not happen again.

AFTER 39 TRAGIC DEATHS:
VIGIL: SAFE PASSAGE NOW

Thursday 24th October 6pm
Home Office, 2 Marsham Street London SW1P 4DF
Click here to view the facebook event

Fighting Bolsonaro: Solidarity with Brazil Thursday 24 October 2019 @ 5.30pm, Congress House

The workers of Brazil knew what was coming long before the rest of the country. A concerted assault on the labour movement and the rights of workers paved the way for the election as President of the far right demagogue Jair Bolsonaro, who has used his position rewrite the history of Brazil’s military dictatorship, and to fuel hate crime with his racism, homophobia and misogyny.

But the trade union movement remains at the core of resistance, with 45 million workers striking in June against Bolsonaro’s policies and unions building resistance on the streets, in workplaces and in Congress.

We will hear from Antonio Lisboa, the international secretary of Brazil’s biggest union organisation, the Central Workers’ Union (CUT), who will tell us of how workers and their allies are fighting not only for democracy, but “for civilisation”.

Danielle Rowley MP, the Shadow Minister for Climate Justice and Green Jobs, will talk about how the far right poses a threat to planet as well as people, as shown by the rampant deforestation revealed in Brazil this summer.

Baroness Christine Blower, Vice Chair of the Brazil Solidarity Initiative, and other speakers TBC, will speak of the international solidarity needed to defend the Brazilian people’s rights and challenge the international growth of the far right.

This Sunday (20 Oct) – Stop the Turkish Invasion of the Kurds Demonstration

Turkey’s invasion of Syria continues, with serious attacks on the Kurds and their semi autonomous areas of Kobane. Turkey is a NATO member – and an absolutely central one both militarily and geographically. The other major NATO powers have done little to stop this onslaught. We will be protesting over the NATO summit on December 3rd in London where Donald Trump is again in town.

We will also be supporting the demonstration against the invasion and attacks on the Kurds which is taking place on Sunday at the BBC, Oxford Circus at 1pm. Our position is clear: we are against all bombing of Syria, from whichever power it comes. We call for immediate Turkish withdrawal, support for the rights of the Kurds, and no to war in the Middle East. We oppose a US/UK no fly zone, which is another form of western intervention. 

60 years of revolution – Cuba – Community meeting Tuesday 5 November 2019, 6.30 – 8.30pm

UNISON would like to invite all to a public meeting and reception to celebrate 60 years of Cuban revolution on Tuesday 5 November 2019 between 6.30 and 8.00pm at St Pauls Cambridge in the Lower Hall.

Two leading Cuban trade unionists, Santiago Badia Gonzales General secretary of health union SNTS and Neisy Pina Lago of public administration union SNTAP will be speaking at the meeting.

Say no to the war and invasion of Rojava

Solidarity with the People of Turkey (SPOT) calls for an immediate end to the invasion of Northern Syria (Rojava) by the Turkish government. Turkey and all other foreign forces in the region must immediately withdraw from the region.

After a phone call between Donald Trump and Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday, the American president announced that the US military would withdraw from the region. Turkey has invaded northern Syria despite being condemned by political leaders from around the world.

The Kurdish forces in the region have until now been the only force keeping ISIS behind lock and key and have been protecting the area from ISIS. There is no doubt that this invasion will cause the deaths of thousands of civilians.  There is also a significant risk that this unprovoked invasion of northern Syria will further ignite regional tensions and lead to the release of thousands of ISIS militants – a situation that prevents peace in the region and ultimately around the world.

The price of the war will yet again be paid by the people living in the region, including Turks, Kurds, and Arabs. Turkey and all imperialist powers have no interest in the security or safety of the people in the region and their goal of expanding their power in the region is costing the lives of innocent people.

Turkey is currently facing economic crises, the ruling party AKP is losing power and suffered major losses in the last local elections. The president of Turkey is trying to provoke nationalism as a means to divide the opposition and hold onto power. The invasion by Turkey is not in the interest of the working people of Turkey and should be stopped immediately.
As Solidarity with the People of Turkey (SPOT) we stand against Turkey’s invasion of northern Syria and call on all foreign forces to withdraw from the region.

We call on Britain to end selling weapons to Turkey which are being used to kill and displace thousands of innocent people in the region, and may indeed be used in the latest invasion.

Finally, we call on our friends in Britain to oppose this invasion by foreign forces and ask you to stand with the people in northern Syria to call for peace.

International Affairs Committee support Latin America Conference 2019

Latin America Conference 2019. Saturday 23 November 2019, Friends House, 173-177 Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ

www.latinamericaconference.co.uk

US warmonger John Bolton has called Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua a ‘Troika of tyranny’ and is making increasingly dangerous threats of intervention against these countries.

The Trump administration is using military aggression, ‘lawfare’ and economic sanctions to try and force a broader reactionary agenda from Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia, to Honduras, Ecuador and Mexico.

Yet people across the region continue to organise and fight back, developing progressive mass movements to struggle for independence, sovereignty and resistance to the vicious US onslaught and attempts to dominate national resources and economies for the benefit of the multinationals.

Features films, stalls, music and discussion on:
– No to Trump’s ‘regime change’ agenda in Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua
– 20 years since Chávez’s election – a spark for 21st century socialism
– Cuba 60 – standing firm under the eye of the empire
– Art, Protest and Change
– Populism and stopping the far right  Fighting back: Honduras, Brazil, Argentina

Climate strike 20 September – adults to join youth strikers across the world

Leaflet here.

Young people in the UK who have been striking for the climate are calling on adults to join them on Friday 20 September as part of a massive global day of action.

“This is not a single-generation job. It’s humanity’s job… Let’s all join together, with your neighbours, co-workers, friends, family and go out on to the streets to make your voices heard and make this a turning point in our history.” Greta Thunberg and 46 youth activists from the international school strike movement

What can I do?

Spread the word! This can be online – for example, share the Facebook event – but face to face conversations are best. Lots of energy and mobilising will take place in existing campaigns, communitiy groups etc. But this is a day where there will also be actions organised from workplaces, whether that’s a strike, a short walkout to join young people a stoppage or some other solidarity action. There’s a guide here for adults wanting to get involved.

You can talk to people in your workplace about why this is so important. Think about holding a meeting to discuss what action you can take. If you can, invite a school striker or climate activist. Be creative and imaginative. Tell your employer about the strength of feeling in support of backing the young people. 

Find out about what’s happening in your area.

There will also be planning events organised throughout the summer (see below, this page will be updated with details of new events as we find out about them). Thinking of organising one yourself? Remember to contact not just climate campaigners, but trade unions, activist groups concerned with other social justice issues, and of course, school strikers in your area. There will be lots of ways people can get involved. 

If you are a trade union member, there are more details on our trade union group website about organising through trade unions.

Check in for general updates: There are weekly online meetings, currently 6-7pm each Thursday (join by video link or dial in from a phone) to bring together people and organisations interested in making 20th September happen. In the calls we discuss the ways in which we’re organising our communities and groups, how we can collaborate, event logistics, sourcing resources, supporting one another and so on. To join via your computer, phone or tablet, click on the link https://wwf.zoom.us/j/571969920 and download the Zoom app when prompted. Or call 020 3051 2874, enter the Meeting ID (571 969 920) when prompted.

Action: call on the TUC to support the climate strikes

In September UCU are bringing a motion to the TUC Congress for the TUC to call a 30 minute workplace stoppage on the day of the strikes – the first time in over 30 years that the TUC has issued such a call on any issue. To get this motion passed UCU will need to demonstrate how widespread the support for it is – please sign up and share, whether you are a trade union member or not. 

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