07 June 2004



The international conference, organised by the trade union international UNI and funded by the European Union, included a series of high profile speakers.
Thought-provoking contributions were made by various academic experts, the leaders of several pan-European bodies involved in the monitoring of social and workplace trends, and the chair of the UK's own Commission for Racial Equality, Trevor Phillips.
The highly-respected former TV journalist, himself a member of the CWU, cited the tragic loss of 19 Chinese migrant workers collecting cockles in Morecambe Bay in February as evidence of the vulnerability of a section of the workforce which is discriminated again by society and typically exploited by their employers.
Opening the event, CWU general secretary Billy Hayes pointed out that even in ethnically-diverse London the problem of racism and xenophobia  urgently needs addressing.
"This is the 10th anniversary year of the infamous murder of Stephen Lawrence in South London by a group of racists," said Billy.
"His killers have never been brought to justice because racism was an institutional problem in the police force.
"For our part, the CWU, in honour of the Lawrence Inquiry, commission a report to guide us how we as a trade union could eradicate discrimination in our structures.
"It is because of our union's commitment to this work that I'm particularly proud to see the CWU host your seminar."
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SPEECH TO THE OPENING SESSIONOF THE UNI SEMINAR ON THE FIGHT AGAINST RACISM & XENOPHOBIA HELD AT CWU HQON 7 JUNE 2004.
"It is my pleasure and privilege to welcome this UNI Seminar to CWU Headquarters in London.
In London we have one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the World.  Over three hundred languages are spoken here.
London is a community of communities.  But the problems of racism and xenophobia exist here as elsewhere.
This is the 10th anniversary year of the infamous murder of Stephen Lawrence in South London.  Stephen was an 18 year old black student murdered by a group of racists.  His killers have never been brought to justice because racism was an institutional problem in the police force.
His parents, Doreen and Neville Lawrence, launched an inspirational campaign to achieve justice.  They did not achieve justice, but they did force an inquiry which directed all institutions in British society to eradicate racism in their daily work.  This is a struggle which must be pursued.
For our part, the CWU, in honour of the Lawrence Inquiry, commissioned a report to guide us how we as a Trade Union could eradicate discrimination in our structures. 
We are still carrying on this line.  This year, we have begun compulsory training for our representatives in equality and diversity issues.  If reps refuse this training, they will lose their representative position.
For us an anti-racist, and anti-sexist, policy is not a luxury.  It is not an optional extra.  A policy for equal opportunities is a central part of Trade Unionism.
The workforce today, and in the future, is more female and more ethically diverse. 
In Britain 9% of the population are from ethnic minorities.  In London 25% of the population are from ethnic minorities.  The unions must demonstrate their relevance to a new generation of workers.  We can only do this if we have anti-racist and anti-sexist policies.
In Royal Mail today, 12% of the workforce are from ethnic minorities.  In British Telecom today, 8.6% of the workforce are from ethnic minorities.
So from a very practical point of view, as a Union we must have a policy which addresses the inequalities that Black workers face in society and in the workplace.
To this effect, we have secured agreements with all our major employers on such questions as equal opportunities in promotion and staffing, against harassment and bullying in the workplace, rights for workers from religious minorities such as Muslims to carry out religious observance, and so on.
There is still much to do. We have pressed the Government to ensure laws are made which outlaw discrimination, whether this be by race, gender, sexual orientation or religion.
But we have our disappointments and problems with the Labour Government.  In particular, we are very unhappy at the treatment of asylum seekers and migrant labour by this Government.  In our view, the Government has adopted policies more appropriate to right-wing Conservative Governments.  They have prevented asylum seekers from gaining employment, denied asylum seekers access to legal assistance, and there is even a threat to take away the children of asylum seekers.
We are campaigning on these things, but the Government's policies have encouraged the growth of racism and fascist organisations.
In particular, the last three years has seen a growth of the British National Party.  This is a fascist organisation, similar to the French National Front, the Vlaams Blok in Belgium and the Freedom Party in Austria.
The CWU is involved in a national political campaign called Unite Against Fascism.  This Campaign involves organisations from the Black, Muslim and Jewish communities.  It involves the British Trade Union Congress.  It involves parliamentarians from most parties.  It involves many young people.
At the moment Unite Against Fascism is campaigning to prevent the BNP gaining an MEP's seat, or a seat in the Greater London Assembly election on June 10th.
 
The BNP has reacted angrily to our Union's work.  They have circulated material in Postal Sorting Offices attacking myself and three other key leaders of the Union.  They have threatened to sue the Union on a range of issues.
For our part, we have negotiated an agreement with the employer which allows our delivery workers, if they wish, to excuse themselves from delivering fascist election material.  There are legal limits for us, but we are testing these in our campaign against the fascists.
This then is a brief overview of the CWU's work.  It is because of our Unions commitment to this work that I am particularly proud to see the CWU host your Seminar today.
My best wishes for the success of your Seminar.
No Pasaran!