- Conference
- 2012 National Black Members' Conference
- Date
- 21 September 2011
- Decision
- Carried
Co-ordinated action against the various English, Scottish & Welsh Defence League:
UNISON needs co-ordinated action against the various English,Scottish &Welsh Defence League:
1)This Conference notes the increasing number of English Defence League (EDL) actions across the country. Sites chosen for those actions have been deliberately selected to:
–Increase fear and intimidation to Black communities
–Increase the risk of mass disorder and injury to people from Black communities.
–Provide opportunities for individual acts of violence by EDL members and supporters where they deliberately and indiscriminately attack individuals from the Black community.
2)This Conference believes these are a deliberate attempt to attack and intimidate the Black community and in particular Muslim communities;
3)This Conference notes that actions of the Home Secretary to ban marches in Bradford, Tower Hamlets and Leicester and other towns and cities following evidence of extreme public concern about these planned protests. In Bradford the 11,000 signatures that were collated in three weeks was evidence of 11,000 conversations with individuals to understand what the EDL march would mean for the city.
4)This Conference is dismayed that:
i) each time a march has been banned by the Home Secretary the EDL has stated that they would undertake a static protest in lieu of a march.
ii)There is no legislation that allows the banning of a static protest
iii)When static protests have been undertaken by the EDL the police have often escorted EDL protesters en mass to sites of static protests.
5)This Conference calls on the NBMC to work with UNISON Labour Link structures to:
i)Work with Labour Councillors to ensure that local authorities use their statutory obligations under the Equality Act 2010 to oppose EDL marches and static protests in their areas.
ii)Work with Labour MPs to campaign for a change in the law to allow the Home Secretary the power to ban static protests where there is evidence of extreme public concern and safety, racial disharmony and the potential threat of mass disorder
iii)Encourage and provide guidance to Regional Black Members Committee’s & Regional Labour Link Committee’s on cross sog and regional council campaigning across all regions in UNISON