HANDS OFF MY WORKMATE CONFERENCE & TEACH IN

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Welcome to the Hands off my Workmate Conference & Teach In Website.

ORGANISING FOR MIGRANT WORKERS RIGHTS

Saturday 17th October 2009, School of Oriental and African Studies, Thornhaugh St, Russell Square, London

10am to 5.30pm

NEW! TIMETABLE NOW AVAILABLE

In June this year, cleaners at SOAS who had joined UNISON and organised to win the London Living Wage suffered a brutal immigration raid, organised by the cleaning contractor ISS. The raid highlighted both the central role of migrant workers in the global economy and the vulnerability of the undocumented workers who have been working to build union organisation. The Hands of my Workmate conference & teach-in has been called by the three SOAS campus unions to address the issues surrounding migrant labour, attacks on their citizenship and right to organise and the ways in which all workers are impacted by the extension of the border into our workplace.

Speakers include: Jeremy Corbyn MP I Jean Lambert MEP I Prof Gilbert Achcar I Migrant Rights Network I Clara Osagiede, RMT I Sandy Nicoll, SOAS UNISON I UNITE Justice for Cleaners Campaign I Prof Alex Callincos I RMT I Sasha Callaghan, UCU NEC I Rita Chada, RAMFEL I NUT I CWU I NUJ I Elane Heffernan, Hands off My Workmate I Prof Jane Hardy I Bloomsbury Living Wage Campaign I Habib Rahman, JCWI I Latin American Workers Association I Kate Boothby, National Coalitin of Anti-Deportation Campaigns I Dr Subir Sinha I Dr Paru Raman I Prof Phil Marfleet.

CLOSED SESSION FOR MIGRANT WORKERS: LEGAL BRIEFING
2.30PM

A coalition of top immigration lawyers will assist participants in obtaining quality legal advice

Latest News: The latest leaflet for the Hands of my Workmate Conference & Teach In is now available. Please click on the thumbnail image:

A model motion supporting the Hands of my Workmate Conference for trade union branches is now available by clicking on the 'MOTION' link on the right hand side of the website.

MOTION

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Model motion for trade union branches in support of the Hands of My Workmate Conference. Please email handsoffmyworkmate@yahoo.co.uk to let us know if you have passed this motion and to register delegates for the conference.

Hands off my Workmate!

We note with concern,

1. That cleaners at SOAS university, employed by private contractor ISS, had successfully organised in UNISON and won the London Living Wage and union recognition.
2. That a brutal immigration raid took place at SOAS on Friday 12th June 2009 an hour before UNISON was due to hold a rally in protest at the sacking of a union rep. The raid organised with ISS management who assembled staff in a fake meeting and blocked exits while immigration officers dressed in riot gear rushed into the room in a loud and threatening manner. The raid terrified the cleaners and SOAS staff who witnessed it. Cleaners state they were refused water and medicine and union reps were prevented from seeing their members to offer legal assistance.
3. A similar raid was later organised at the offices of Willis in the City where cleaners employed by Mitie had been organising in UNITE and fighting for a living wage. ISS began to check papers for cleaners on the London underground within weeks of the successful strikes for a living wage on London Underground in August 2008—sacking reps for irregular documentation, including the RMT grade chair who had documentation allowing work.

We believe:

1. That the introduction of immigration checks and immigration raids in the workplace is divisive and damaging to union organisation and is designed to create pressure on migrant workers not to organise or to take part in action.
2. That companies who operate outsourced services such as cleaning, wish to operate in a non union, low wage, environment and are using immigration checks as a weapon to drive down pay and conditions. If they succeed in lowering conditions for one part of the workforce—then all are damaged.
3. An injury to one is an injury to all. Workers of all countries of origin require unity to fight for secure jobs, decent wages and safe working conditions and immigration checks at work simply divide and weaken us.
4. Fascist groups like the BNP have grown on the back of a climate of fear about migration generated by politicians seeking to lay the blame for economic crisis at the door of working people from other countries.
5. That the students and staff of SOAS who launched immediate protests, including a student occupation, to win protection for their migrant workmates/students are to be congratulated for forcing their management to request the immediate issue of papers to the cleaners held in detention, the return of those detained and to acknowledge the lecturers UCU policy of non co-operation with immigration controls as well as agreeing to reconsider the outsourcing of cleaning contracts.
6. That immigration raids in the workplace risk the health and safety of our members by bringing the potential for violence into our workplace through the entry of riot style squads hunting down workers and also create stress for all staff who witness such raids or who have colleagues & friends detained in them.
7. Employers do not need to, and should not, facilitate such raids.

We resolve

1. To support the SOAS initiative, “Hands off my workmate!” & “Hands off my student!”, to circulate its materials among members and send delegates to the launch meeting and teach in on 17th October 2009 to be held at SOAS and to encourage other groups to participate in this and to set up other similar initiatives such as “Hands off my patient!”.
2. To send a message of support to the SOAS staff and students’ union for their campaign to secure the return of their cleaners with the right to work.
3. To demand a guarantee that our management and any existing contractors will not facilitate immigration raids at any time since these breach our safety and create an atmosphere in the workplace which is not conducive to a respectful culture of diversity.
4. To fight for the going rate for the job for all workers and to stop outsourcing of services which endangers wages, conditions and union organisation. Where appropriate to fight to bring services back in house.

CONFERENCE PROGRAMME

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Hands Off My Workmate

CONFERENCE/ TEACH-IN PROGRAMME

SOAS

Saturday, 17 October 2009

10am - 5.30pm

10am Plenary
Jeremy Corbin MP; Habib Rahman (JCWI); Jean Lambert MEP; Juan Carlos Piedra

10:45-12:15 Morning Session

* Globalisation and profits: how the borders make a killing for the multinationals
Prof Alex Callinicos; Luis Armando; Dr Paolo Novak

* The feminisation of migrant labour
Gabriella Alberti; Dr Paru Raman; Jamima Fagta (Kanlungan)

* Stopping the raids: legal and union strategies to defend migrant workers
Video link to deported cleaner; Kate Boothby (NCADC); Sandy Nicoll SOAS UNISON

* Bread and roses too: migrant workers and the unions
Lorraine Mngadi; Matthew Cookson; Stalin Bermudez (Honorary President SOAS SU)

1:00- 2:15 Early Afternoon Session

* Busting the migration myths: challenging the racists
Adam Rogalewski (UNISON); Rita Chadha (Ramfel); Hilary Aked (editor, London Student)

* Recession, migrant workers and the British jobs debate
Prof: Jane Hardy; Martin Smith

* Stopping the raids: legal and union strategies to defend migrant workers
Migrant Rights Network; Antonia bright (SOAS UNISON); Clara Osagedie (RMT)

* Poverty, war, neoliberalism, migrant labour in the global economy (why people move)
Prof Gilbert Achcar; Andrew Higginbottom (Colombia Solidarity); Belgica Guana (NUS)

2:30 3:45 Late Afternoon Session

* The border in the workplace: restricting education welfare and housing- who benefits
Greg Ryan (Kings student); Elane Heffernan

* Citizens and strangers: the question of amnesties and conditional citizenship
Alberto Durango; Prof Phil Marfleet; Neil Jameson (Strangers into Citizens)

* We wont spy on students; education for all
Jennifer Bojarek (Goldsmiths UCU); Sebilio (SOAS SU Co-President); Kevin Courtney (NUT)

* Winning the living wage
Philip Mambuliya (RMT); Jackie Freeman (SOAS UNISON); Juan Carlos Piedra (UNITE)

4pm Plenary
Jermey Dear (NUJ); Clara Osagiede (RMT); Elane Heffernan; Wilf Sullivan (TUC); Neil Jameson (London Citizen); Alex Gordon (RMT); Sahsa Callaghan (UCU); Kevin Courtney (NUT); Paul Brandon (UNITE); Keith Best (IAS)

PLUS:
2.30pm CLOSED SESSION FOR MIGRANT WORKERS: LEGAL BRIEFING

CONTACT US

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To book a free place at the conference or if you have any questions please email: handsoffmyworkmate@yahoo.co.uk

ABOUT THE CONFERENCE

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Hands off my Workmate Conference

School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London

Saturday 17th October 2009

10am to 5.30pm

On the 12th June this year, the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) was raided by UK Border Agency officers, resulting in the arrest, detention and deportation of 9 members of the SOAS cleaning staff. The SOAS campus trade unions believe that ISS (the cleaning contractor) was involved in organising this immigration raid, which followed a vigorous and successful campaign led by SOAS cleaners to win union representation and the London Living Wage.

The use of immigration checks against migrant workers who organise trade unions is becoming more frequent, with similar raids on the London Underground and at a number of City firms. Attacks on migrants are gathering pace, with trade unionists in hospitals, colleges and local services also increasingly asked to take on the functions of immigration officers.

SOAS UNISON, SOAS UCU and SOAS Students’ Union have called a conference to take place on the 17th October 2009 at SOAS based on the theme ‘Hands of my Workmate’.

It is hoped that this conference will highlight the precarious working conditions of migrant workers in Britain today and be a campaigning base to build the broadest based unity in defence of migrant workers and in opposition to immigration controls in workplaces, colleges, schools, hospitals, etc.

It is intended that the conference will take the form of a series of seminars and practical workshops followed by a general plenary, at which we will formally launch the ‘Hands off my Workmate’ initiative (and ‘hands off my student’, ‘hands off my patient’), what is hoped will be a broad based tool kit designed to build opposition to immigration controls in workplaces, colleges, schools and hospitals.

GETTING THERE

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Location:

Russel Square Campus
School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
Thornhaugh Street
Russell Square
London
WC1H 0XG

Travel Advice:

The main SOAS campus at Russell Square is placed centrally in the Bloomsbury area of London, close to Russell Square.

Getting to SOAS by Tube/Train

The following stations are all within walking distance to the Russell Square campus:

* Russell Square (Piccadilly Line)
* Goodge Street (Northern Line)
* Tottenham Court Road (Central and Northern Lines)
* Euston (Victoria and Northern Lines & Mainline trains)
* Euston Square (Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan Lines)
* Kings Cross St Pancras (Circle, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan, Piccadilly and Victoria Lines, & Mainline and Thameslink trains)
* Warren Street (Victoria and Northern Lines)

Getting to SOAS by Bus

The following buses serve the local area: numbers 7, 68, 91, 168 and 188 stop on Russell Square; 10, 24, 29, 73 and 134 stop on Tottenham Court Road (north bound) or Gower Street (south bound).

Bicycle

There are bike racks at the Russell Square campus