ACTU President Ged Kearney to launch Unionists for Refugees in Canberra on 3 March
Posted by John, February 2nd, 2015 - under Refugee Action Committee (Canberra), Refugees, Unionists for refugees, Unions.
Tags: ACTU, Australian Council of Trade Unions
The Refugee Action Committee in Canberra is setting up Unionists for Refugees. The aim of the group is to educate and mobilise union members around the need for change in Australia’s refugee policy.
We believe that the current policy is inhumane and unjust. It wastes billions of dollars on keeping a tiny number of people in terrible conditions. It trashes our international reputation – we are the only country in the world to lock up asylum seekers in other countries.
There are much better ways of dealing with asylum seekers – the ways which we used to use during the Indochinese refugee influx are an obvious and practical alternative.
We think that it is particularly important that the union movement take a stand on this. Unions have always been at the forefront of campaigns for social justice. Moreover, the attacks on asylum seekers have operated as a distraction while union rights, jobs and hard-won conditions and wages are under attack.
ACTU President Ged Kearney will launch Unionists for Refugees at a public meeting at 6.30pm, on Tuesday 3 March at the Belconnen Labor Club (Fred Daly Room), Chandler St, Belconnen. Publicise this meeting as widely as possible.
In addition, the campaign is building towards a very large rally and march on Palm Sunday, 1pm Sunday 29 March beginning in Garema Place. We are going to organise union contingents to take part in the demonstration.