WATCH & SHARE THE OPENING PLENARY HERE
WATCH & SHARE THE CLOSING PLENARY HERE
Stand Up To Racism joined with the TUC to pull off the Fighting for Anti Racist Workplaces conference on Saturday 5 February. Over 1,100 had registered by the start of the event and attended lively and focussed plenaries and workshops covering a wide range of key fronts in the anti racist and anti fascist struggle in Britain, and more widely internationally.
With eight union general secretaries speaking and 13 unions represented nationally, as well as the TUC, Scottish TUC and Welsh TUC, on the speakers list for the event, it was a powerful show of the official support across the trade union movement for building big demonstrations for UN Anti Racism Day 2022. The punchline to almost every speech on the plenaries was the need to mobilise for the demonstrations planned for Saturday 19 March in London and Glasgow and Sunday 20 March in Cardiff.
Well attended workshops with lively engaged discussions took place, covering themes: Amidst the Covid pandemic – Fighting institutional racism: a strategy for anti racist workplaces ■ Opposing the Nationality and Borders Bill and the Hostile Environment ■ Challenging the legacy of slavery and empire: decolonising education ■ Opposing the Policing Bill – fighting for justice ■ From Capitol Hill to France’s presidential elections: how can we combat the rise of the far right? ■ Migrant workers – part of the solution .
In the workshops, trade unionists grappled with how to build strong anti racist currents on the ground, inside workplaces and working class communities to oppose how the racist agenda being pushed by Boris Johnson, Priti Patel and the government cabinet can generate and bolster racist division, as well how to organise direct and active widespread opposition to the raft of racist policies we are facing, whether the borders and policing bills, the fight to decolonise and for slavery justice, or the struggle against institutional racism and how the pandemic has impacted disportionately on black and ethnic minority communities. The session on combating the rise of the far right drew in experiences from the US and France, as well as learning from experience here in Britain defeating fascist Tommy Robinson in 2018/9 and recognising the threat that must be consistently opposed, shown by the recent mobilisation in Telford. A session led by the TUC alongside migrant workers from Unite, Unison, UCU and UVW brought inspiration from the front lines of striker and campaigns that show migrant workers are at the forefront of the fight for better pay and conditions, not driving wages down as the racist argument would have us believe.
Videos of the panel speakers from each workshop:
AMIDST THE COVID PANDEMIC: FIGHTING INSTITUTIONAL RACISM – A STRATEGY FOR ANTI RACIST WORKPLACES
OPPOSING THE NATIONALITY AND BORDERS BILL AND THE HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT
CHALLENGING THE LEGACY OF EMPIRE AND SLAVERY: DECOLONISING EDUCATION
will be posted shortly
OPPOSING THE POLICING BILL – FIGHTING FOR JUSTICE
FROM CAPITOL HILL TO FRANCE’S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: HOW CAN WE COMBAT THE RISE OF THE FAR RIGHT?
MIGRANT WORKERS: PART OF THE SOLUTION