UNISON marks Holocaust Memorial Day
Senior local politicians and union leaders will be at UNISON’s London headquarters to mark Holocaust Memorial Day on Monday 27 January.
UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis and president Josie Bird will host an event at 11.45am to remember the millions who died during the Holocaust.
They will be joined by Holborn & St Pancras MP Keir Starmer, Camden Council leader Georgia Gould and Jemma Levene, deputy director of anti-fascism campaigning group Hope not Hate.
Commemorations will be even more poignant this year, as 2020 marks 75 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, and 25 years since the 1995 Bosnian genocide.
Dave Prentis will lead a minute’s silence and the lighting of a remembrance candle to honour the victims of the Nazi regime and those murdered during modern genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.
UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “Today Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism are growing problems that cannot be allowed take hold. We must never forget the bitter consequence of turning a blind eye to hate.
“If society again stands by while neighbours, colleagues, friends or relatives are singled out for ridicule, isolation or worse, we won’t have learned the lessons of the past.
“We have the opportunity to create a better, fairer future for everyone – regardless of colour, religion or belief – and we must grasp that opportunity now.”
Notes to editors
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services – in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in both the public and private sectors.
Media contacts:
Garfield Myrie T: 0207 121 5546 M: 07432 741565 E: g.myrie@unison.co.uk
Liz Chinchen T: 0207 121 5463 M: 07778 158175 E: l.chinchen@unison.co.uk