SATURDAY 17TH NOVEMBER 2018
12 noon BBC, Portland Place, London W1A 1AA

Anti-Racism and the Trade Unions
WFTC notes that a high proportion of the British working class is composed of immigrants and their descendants and that these workers have historically played an important role in advancing the interests of all workers. We restate our commitment to equal rights for all workers irrespective of ethnicity or citizenship. In practical terms this means defending the right to stay of EU nationals working and living in the UK and maintaining free movement of labour within the EU

WFTC also notes that Waltham Forest has an ethnically diverse population with huge numbers of low-paid workers; increasing numbers of families struggling on and around the poverty line; a growth in rough sleeping and use of foodbanks; with many support services massively cut due to successive government policies. This is leading to some mistaken opinions regarding the true cause of these problems.
WFTC is alarmed at the growth of right wing populism in Britain shown by

1) The attempts to hi-jack some football fan clubs to far right ideas
2) The large demonstrations that took place in the summer organized by DFLA and UKIP to build a mass pole of attraction around Tommy Robinson.
3) The attacks on, and intimidation of, individuals from ethnic communities attempting to conflate Muslims with terrorists, and more recently physical attacks on left wing trade unionists like RMT Assistant Secretary Steve Hedley, and on the left wing shop Bookmarks.

WFTC believes that, whilst the core of groups such as the DFLA include fascists, there are also many angry working class people who are drawn towards acceptance of the right wing media’s racist attacks on both immigrants and ethnic groups.
They are deeply alienated by the driving down of wages and conditions by the capitalist neo-liberal policies of the Tories, and further betrayed by capitalist establishment politicians of all parties, particularly New Labour, who have continued these same policies and failed to offer a real way out of a decade of austerity conditions.

WFTC is anxious to ensure that this phenomenon is short-lived; and is clear that trade unions have a crucial central role to play in cutting across the appeal of these far right leaders through energetic joint mass campaigning for jobs and homes, better pay, conditions and improved services for all, and to stop the race to the bottom; as well as through confronting racist ideas and organisations.

WFTC agrees to, and calls on all its affiliates to:

i. Put out information to members and the general public dispelling the myths that migrants cause the crisis in housing or the NHS, and expose how the private profit system is to blame for low pay.
ii. Leaflet the local football club to take a stand against DFLA, and call for support for Kick Racism out of Football and Show Racism the Red Card
iii. Work with anti-racist organisations like SUTR, Refugee Rights Campaign and other appropriate anti-racist bodies, to ensure that any anti-racist events confronting DFLA (or similar) is well stewarded by trade unionists, as this would encourage people to attend. We fully support the proposal of RMT activists to form a trade union stewards group consisting of hundreds of volunteers from each union, from which stewards and a chief steward with experience can be drawn on each occasion.
iv. Welcomes the TUC vote to support the demo on November 17th called by SUTR, and urges SUTR to invite the TUC to head up that demo.
v. Demands that the TUC implements without delay its Congress decision to launch a “jobs, homes, not racism” campaign to unite the wider trade union movement and to undermine the far right. This campaign should include setting a date for a national TUC demonstration against racism; and include all legal steps up to and including strike action to disrupt all attempts of those who try to organize for the purposes of extending the rhetoric of the DFLA or any similar organization.
vi. Defend the right to stay of EU nationals working and living in the UK with trade union negotiated rates of pay for all.
vii. Campaign for a general election now, and for a Corbyn-led government that will introduce policies to unite all workers against divisive attacks by the employers and their representatives.