Delegates mourned the terrible tragedy
of the 950 migrants drowned as their ship
capsized off the coast of Libya just before
the start of the Congress and gave overwhelming
support to an emergency motion condemning
the trade of people trafficking but also
the reduction in search and rescue operations
which is having a dramatic consequence
on loss of life.
The STUC will campaign for an increase
in the number of rescue boats in the Mediterranean
and will use its influence to encourage
a more humane immigration policy and to
encourage the UK Government to provide
safe haven for more refugees, especially
those from conflict zones.
Moving the motion on behalf of the General
Council, UNISON Scottish Secretary, Mike
Kirby, clearly shocked by the events of
the previous weekend, told delegates that
the situation in the Mediterranean “where
they are dragging bodies out of the sea,
day after day, thousands of innocent people
dead, simply beggars belief.”
He condemned the replacement by a smaller
European operation, of the search and
rescue vessels run by the Italian government
that were previously saving 100,000 lives
a year.
“It is difficult to put into words
the degree to which this situation is
unacceptable,” slammed Mike. “It
is to the eternal shame of the UK Government
that they do not support the return to
the full search and rescue function. A
position that is indefensible in its inhumanity.”
He called for the search and rescue operation
to be reinstated as a matter of urgency,
to “try to prevent the needless
deaths of men, women and children on Europe’s
doorstep.”
“We must also seek to change the
approach of the UK to immigration, creating
a better more humane system that recognises
our responsibilities in the world,”
said Mike, adding that the UK is not doing
enough to provide refuge to people who
are displaced by conflict.
“In Syria, alone, close to four
million refugees have fled since the beginning
of the civil war in 2011. This is the
largest refugee population currently under
the care of the UN’s refugee agency,
but to date the UK has only provided resettlement
places for 143 Syrian refugees.
“This lack of action gives sucour
to traffickers seeking to exploit people
in desperate situations in pursuit of
profit. We cannot allow these people to
exploit our Government’s inaction.”
He added, however, that we must go even
further than this and raise awareness
of the combination of factors that cause
people to turn to traffickers in the first
place.
