Unite the union told support is vital during this “dangerous time”
Campaign News | Thursday, 17 July 2025
Pablo Ginarte Sampedro, Rob Miller, Tabusam Ahmed, Peter Hughes and Fraser McGuire spoke at the Unite the Union fringe meeting
At a busy fringe meeting at Unite Policy Conference, delegates heard how visiting Cuba can invigorate and strengthen the British trade union movement and how greater solidarity in the face of renewed assaults on Cuba is desperately needed.
Unite Wales Regional Secretary Peter Hughes, who chaired the meeting and visited Cuba with CSC on the Cycle Challenge, described the latest attacks from the Trump administration as “a disgrace” and as an “affront to our values.”
Fraser McGuire, TUC Young Workers Chair, described his time in Cuba on the 2024 Young Trade Unionists’ May Day Brigade as “inspirational and formative.” Alongside nearly 40 other young trade unionists who took part in the delegation, Fraser said that May Day celebrations in Havana were the “most moving, incredible expression of solidarity” he had ever witnessed and spoke of returning energised to fight for a better future in Britain.
Unite Regional Officer Tabusam Ahmed, London & Eastern region’s lead officer on health, recalled visits to health centres during her time on the Cycle Challenge in 2024. “Not only have the Cubans built a world-class health system, based on prevention and community care, but their doctors and nurses have served in every corner of the globe when countries are in need,” she said. Tabusam implored delegates to “help break the US blockade” and support the Cuba Vive Medical Aid appeal “to ensure Cuba’s health system remains strong and resilient.”
Thanking Unite for its long and principled solidarity with his country over the years, First Secretary at the Cuban embassy Pablo Ginarte Sampedro detailed the impact of Trump’s latest aggression on the island: “The situation in Cuba today is extremely serious… inflation is very high, access to medicines and fuel is severely limited, power cuts are long and frequent, and our healthcare system is under immense strain.” But he told Unite members that “their solidarity matters” and “every act of trade union support, every resolution passed, every donation to Cuba Vive… sends a powerful message.”
CSC Director Rob Miller closed the meeting with a call for members to return to their branches and regions and build support for the campaign at what he called a “dangerous time” for Cuba.
CSC would like to thank Thompsons Solicitors for sponsoring the fringe meeting.
