March against racism on Saturday, vote ian4unite from 27th March

Ian Allinson, the only candidate for Unite General Secretary arguing for workers’ rights to move freely and be treated equally, urges members to join Saturday’s march against racism.Leaflet "March against racism"

Today we saw Theresa May’s government defeat Lords amendments intended to protect the rights of EU migrants living in the UK. The Tories are treating migrant workers like hostages, held to ransom for its trade negotiations.

Every trade unionist should be joining Saturday’s March Against Racism in London, Glasgow and Cardiff, which is supported by the TUC.

The impromptu protests around Trump’s inauguration were inspiring. They showed the potential for a powerful movement against racism, sexism and bigotry – and blew out of the water the idea that young people are apathetic. We need to ensure that energy is sustained and organised. Saturday’s demonstration can contribute to that process – as long as it is a springboard to further action rather than a letting-off of steam.

The question of workers’ rights to move freely and be treated equally is not going away. While the two establishment candidates in the Unite General Secretary election fudge and backslide on it, I have made it an important theme of my campaign.

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McCluskey in disarray on free movement of workers

Freedom of movement banner
Photo: Rasande Tyskar, flickr

When I launched the campaign for General Secretary of Unite on Thursday evening, Len McCluskey’s backsliding on free movement of labour was one of the issues I raised. Little did I know how the issue would explode yesterday, with McCluskey and his supporters in full denial mode.

This is not a new issue. Even before the Brexit referendum, McCluskey described EU migration as a gigantic experiment at the expense of ordinary workers. At the Unite Policy Conference shortly after the referendum, I moved an emergency motion from my industrial sector which defended free movement. McCluskey and the Executive Council opposed this in favour of a woolly executive statement that called for a “debate” on free movement.

Since then McCluskey has set out his position in various places, including a speech for the think tank CLASS.

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