- Conference
- 2004 National Delegate Conference
- Date
- 24 February 2004
- Decision
- Carried as Amended
International developments, whether economic, social or political, affect all areas of UNISON’s membership. Conference, in recognising this, notes that one of the founding principles of the union was that of international solidarity and friendship with trade unions overseas and in particular with unions struggling against the forces of oppression, privatisation and injustice. For decades we have prioritised the struggles of sister unions for democracy, freedom and independence, and worked with others for the right of countries to embrace self-determination and the freedom to decide on their own affairs without external interference, either direct or indirect from outside bodies. In particular, we have been proud to assist particularly where our fellow trade unionists have been involved in liberation struggles and are fighting for progressive political change, including the defence of public services.
In particular, Conference notes:
1)the historic role played by UNISON and its predecessor unions in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa and the assistance and support provided to improve the condition of the South African working class throughout the South African trade union movement;
2)the continuing and necessary support given to the people of Palestine in their fight for self-determination on the basis of United Nations Resolution 242, which recognises that justice will only be served by the end of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, a return to the 1967 boundaries and the foundation of the free Palestinian state outside of Israeli interference. We have continually opposed Israeli sponsored state terror and the invasion and occupation of Palestinian lands and support the rights of refugees to return;
3)the help given to trade unionists in Colombia, where death threats, abduction and terrorism are routinely used to disrupt ordinary trade union activity including the defence of public services;
4)the assistance necessary to Cuba whose citizens have made the island independent and capable of forging a future for themselves. This despite a 40 year total trade blockade by the United States, cutting trade links which have starved Cuba of technology but not the first class free universal education and health care;
5)the support called for at conference last year given to trade unions in Burma where the military dictatorship has suspended the normal democratic processes and where the use of forced labour is common.
Together with our policies on peace, where we have opposed the use of military force, and on globalisation, where we have supported fair and sustainable trade, these principles have enabled UNISON to make a unique and distinctive contribution to the international fight for justice and independence, and against enforced poverty and the rule of multinational corporations.
Conference congratulates the National Executive Council on its commitment to these policies and believes that these fundamental conditions must always lie at the heart of our international work. In the light of the resource restraints our international work based on these principles of assisting liberation struggles, progressive policies, solidarity and the fight to national self-determination must be supreme.
Conference instructs the NEC to:
a)prioritise its international work and budgets based on these principles;
b)continue to carry out UNISON’s international work through trade union internationals such as European Public Services Union and Public Services International, individual national public service trade unions in the countries concerned and with appropriate solidarity movements in line with UNISON rules;
c)base its work on genuine dialogue between partners, rather than seeking to impose our views or solutions on others;
d)retain our independence of government and the Foreign Office in relation to international policy in order to pursue our policies, as our goals and priorities differ greatly.