unity over division

UNITE CAMPAIGNS TO CHALLENGE THE RISE OF THE FAR RIGHT

Thursday, January 23rd, 2020

In recent years the far right has remerged in Britain and across the Europe.

Far right political parties and groups are trying to gain a foothold in communities across the country.

They are using people’s unhappiness at the loss of services and affordable housing to try to divide our communities and set neighbour against neighbour.

It is not coincide that this has coincided with a disturbing increase in hate crime.

In the 12 months to October 2019, the number of hate crimes in England and Wales more than doubled since 2013, government figures show.

The majority of offences were racially motivated increasing by 11 percent to 78,991, with police forces also recorded a significant rise in crimes committed against people because of their sexuality.

In response to the rise in the far right, Unite launched its Unity over Division campaign last year.

Challenge the far right’s narrative

The campaign is aimed at equipping officers and activists with the counter arguments to challenge the far right’s narrative, including myths around immigration and migration in Britain, the welfare state, NHS, education and women’s rights.

Unite assistant general secretary Steve Turner said, “In Britain today we are governed by a Tory leader who thinks nothing of using offensive and derogatory language to describe people or situations.

“We face a possible no deal Brexit which is likely to throw the economy into chaos, all this on the back of almost ten years of relentless austerity which has made ordinary people tighten their belts and suffer cuts in services, whilst the top 10 per cent in terms of wealth, have seen that wealth massively increase.”

Turner explained that rising inequality and divisive rhetoric from politicians who should know better has provided those intent on spreading far-right narratives an opportunity to do so – a situation reflected in the increase in hate crimes.

“We have seen a huge rise in homophobic, racial and religious attacks on our streets and many migrant workers suffer verbal abuse at work every day.

The NHS in exit interviews of migrant staff leaving the service stated that a key factor was abuse from patients and constant taunts of ‘go back home’,” Turner said.

“This is unacceptable in 2019 in the fifth richest nation in the world. We need to bring unity where there is division and this campaign focuses on how to tackle the messages of hate when they surface in our workplaces and communities.”

As a union, Unite is uniquely placed to communicate with its 1.3m members and reach thousands of leaders who are able to influence the political debates that are going on in workplaces across the nations.

The campaign’s aim is reach 12,000 Unite activists a year with Unity over Division training and education materials.

A number of conferences and committee briefings were held across the country last year, with more events planned this year.

Turner added, “Fascism doesn’t start with concentration camps, but that is where it ends up. We need to talk to our fellow workers, our friends and family, to explain that it is not migrant workers who are attacking their wages, terms and conditions, but exploitative bosses.

“We have a duty as trade unionists to stand for equality and challenge those who would attack our values of fairness, decency and dignity in and out of the workplace.”

UNITY OVER DIVISION CHARTER

Unite the Union’s Unity over Division Charter sets out 5 core organisational principles which are aimed at building more inclusive and harmonious workplaces.

Why do we need a Unity over Division Charter

The huge social and political changes that the country has seen over the last few years have given rise to major social divisions especially along the lines of race, ethnicity, religion and nationality.

One of the most worrying consequences of this is the sharp rise in reported race hate crimes which have increased by almost 30% since 2016.

Unite the Union believes that racial discrimination and intolerance has no place in a modern society and are committed to eradicating it in all its guises.

We are inviting employers to join us in this fight by signing our charter and implementing the following set of progressive workplace initiatives.

Commitment to the Wider Equality Agenda

Whilst this charter focuses specifically on the issues of race, ethnicity, religion and nationality Unite and the employer will continue to carry out their legal and moral obligation to protect all workers from discrimination as required by The Equality Act 2010

The Spirit of the Charter

The Unity over Division Charter provides a starting point for what will hopefully be a more proactive approach to building a more inclusive workplace within in modern Britain.

However, this represents the beginning of what is likely to be a long and difficult journey.

For this reason, along with adhering to its 5 core principles, the signatories of this charter are also committed to working within the spirit in which the document has been written.

Myths and Facts

Britain takes in a disproportionate number of migrants compared to other countries ?

The UK has a smaller proportion of immigrants and lower rates of net immigration than the US, Canada, Australia and several large European countries. Less than 3% of the world’s migrant live in the UK compared with 5% in Germany and 20% in the US

Immigration has put too much pressure on public services ?

Public services are under pressure due to the government’s austerity agenda which has seen local authority, NHS and school budgets decimated since 2010

Immigrants have led to falling wages for British workers ?

Wage poverty has been caused by the government’s Austerity agenda and it’s refusal to deal with the rise in precarious working

Immigration is a drain on the national economy ?

Most studies show that immigration has had a positive impact on the domestic economy. Without migrant workers organisations such as the NHS wouldn’t be able to function properly

Most immigrants are benefit tourists ?

The vast majority of migrants come here to work and are statistically much less likely to claim benefits than non-migrants. Recent research shows that since 2004 immigrants have contributed over £20 billion to the UK economy

Health Tourism is a big problem in the UK ?

Recent government research shows that more people leave the UK to seek medical treatment than arrive here to receive medical care

Immigration causes a rise in crime ?

An authoritative report by the LSE in 2013 found that there was no link between rising crime and immigration. Most victims of Islamic fundamentalism are Muslims themselves

Asylum Seekers come here from safe countries ?

The vast majority of these people, in recent years, have come from countries where there has been serious conflict or grave human rights abuses such as Syria, Iraq and Iran

Asylum seekers and migrants are a risk to national security due to their extremist views ?

Asylum seekers and migrants have often left their country of origin to escape regimes that have extremist ideologies. Most victims of Islamic fundamentalism are Muslims themselves

Unite’s Unity over Division Charter sets out 5 core organisational principles which are aimed at building more inclusive and harmonious workplaces.

Unite and the employer will each appoint an inclusion champion who will be the lead person for the Unity over Division agenda. With the support of Unite and the employer their roles will be to collaboratively monitor, facilitate and promote workplace inclusion wherever possible.
The employer will ensure that all staff members are given training on how to adhere to the company’s equality and diversity policy and will ensure that this document is reviewed annually.
Unite and the employer will provide informative and up to date materials aimed at helping to promote equality and harmony within the workplace.
Where there are local and national examples of hate crime and discrimination Unite and the employer will stand together to condemn such incidents
Where appropriate Unite and the employer will work with other agencies and organisations to promote cohesion both inside and outside the workplace.