Received from: GMB
Congress unequivocally condemns Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
Congress notes:
i. the systematic repression of free trade unions under Putin and Lukashenko, and their suppression in the occupied territories of Ukraine since 2014
ii. appeals from Ukrainian trade unions for continued financial and practical aid (including the means of Ukraine’s self-defence)
iii. the TUC’s proud history of solidarity with victims of fascist and imperialist aggression, including its support for arms to the Spanish Republic when it too faced a war of survival.
Congress affirms:
a. its support for civil and labour rights in Russia and Belarus and the immediate release of trade union prisoners
b. its belief that there can be no just or enduring peace while the Russian state continues its denial of Ukrainian sovereignty and its programme of ethnic cleansing
c. its solidarity with the Ukrainian people, including refugees whose sanctuary has been delayed or denied by the UK government.
Congress supports:
1. the immediate withdrawal of Russian forces from all Ukrainian territories occupied since 2014
2. the continuation and increasing of moral, material, and military aid from the UK to Ukraine
3. a peaceful end to the conflict that secures the territorial integrity of Ukraine and carries the support of the Ukrainian people
4. Ukrainian unions’ calls for the full restoration of labour rights in Ukraine and a socially just reconstruction programme that embeds collective bargaining and rejects deregulation and privatisation
5. TUC facilitation of affiliates’ engagement with the main Ukrainian trade union centres (the FPU and KVPU).
GMB