Britains biggest trade union commits to campaigning for Cuba
Campaign News | Monday, 14 July 2014
union with 1.4 million members supports the Miami Five
Britain’s largest union, Unite, with 1.4 million members, recommitted its support for Cuba and CSC with a motion unanimously carried at their annual policy conference in Liverpool in July.
The motion entitled ‘Cuba: End the US blockade, Free the Miami 5, support the Voices for the Five campaign’ was moved by London and South East region.
The motion noted that:
“Cuba has suffered the under the effects of an illegal and inhumane economic blockade for over 50 years” severely impairing the country’s “ ability to develop economically and has cost $96 billion in lost trade revenues.”
It reaffirmed the union’s support for the “right of Cuba to choose its own economic, social and political path” and opposed the “US’s illegal economic blockade, EU Common Position and policies to isolate the island.”
The motion committed the union to support solidarity with Cuba and the campaign for the Five
“Conference acknowledges the work of the Cuba Solidarity Campaign (CSC) against the blockade of Cuba and in its defence of the Miami Five, including participation in the broad-based international campaign for their release - the Voices for the Five campaign, which organised a major International Commission into the Case of the Miami Five in London on 7 and 8 March 2014.
Conference therefore agrees to:
1) Affiliate to the Cuba Solidarity Campaign (CSC) and encourage regions, branches and individual members to affiliate to/join CSC;
2) Support, publicise and participate in campaign events organised by CSC - in particular to support the ongoing Voices for the Five campaign coming out of the International Commission in March and to support and publicise its initiatives;
Explore and work to promote this policy in relevant wider labour movement bodies in which the union is represented, especially to encourage sister unions globally also to campaign for an end to the blockade and for freedom for the Miami Five.”
These sentiments were reiterated by Unite’s General Secretary, Len McCluskey, speaking at the CSC fringe meeting at conference. “We must continue to battle until all the Miami 5 are free,’ he said and urged “all delegates to go back to their branches and affiliate to the CSC.”
