Trade Unions and conflict with Iran

I apologise once more for a lack of recent posts due to other commitments. I normally restrict myself to reporting on local and national issues, but we are part of an international movement, so I was pleased to find intelligent comment on the issues thrown up by the Iranian seizure of British service personnel.

UNISON and the trade union movement generally have been pretty much united in opposition to the Iraq war. We must keep up the pressure against the threat of war with Iran. The terrible consequences of US and UK military imperialism are not separate from the day to day problems our members face in this country.

War uses resources that are not available for peaceful purposes. War justifies attacks upon our civil liberties. War widens divisions between groups and communities and nurtures racism and Islamophobia.

I don’t know what others think about this, but I can’t see any motions on the Preliminary Agenda for UNISON Conference which could properly be amended to express opposition to military action against Iran. I only hope we don’t need to prepare an Emergency Motion for debate – because the threat recedes.

We have a duty to develop and campaign for policies around pressing international issues because these matter to our members, and because we are part of an international trade union movement.