The UK Labour Party, winner of the 4 July elections after 14 years of Conservative rule, will hold its Annual Conference on 22-25 September in Liverpool. The participation of representatives of various trade unions from across the country, alongside MPs, reinforces the significance of the event.
The conference will focus on the internal affairs of the European nation and will also host side events that complement the party's political projection and its relationship with society. Two such spaces have been organised by the Cuba Solidarity Campaign, a non-governmental organisation that promotes solidarity, internationalism, and links with Cuban workers and the Cuban government.
For decades, the group has organised work brigades, specialised trips, exchanges in various fields and solidarity donations. Among its most recent initiatives are the Viva la Educación (2023) days, in support of the Cuban education sector; the Cuba Vive appeal (2024), which seeks to raise at least £100,000 to buy medical supplies in need; and the donation of musical instruments and accessories for the ballet.
With over 5,000 members, several affiliated organisations and local groups, the Cuba Solidarity Campaign has also built a strong history of links between the trade union movements in Cuba and the UK.
On their website (cuba-solidarity.org.uk), the organisation informs that on 23 and 24 September, in the context of the Labour Conference in Liverpool, the Cuba issue will be publicised and debated publicly. They said that support will be ratified for the struggle that Cuba has been waging for more than 60 years against the economic, commercial and financial blockade, as well as the demand to be removed from the spurious List of Sponsors of Terrorism organised by the United States.
This will be an opportunity to address the devastating effects of the blockade, which especially affects Cuban workers and their families, who face shortages of medicines, food and fuel due to this hostile policy, said the organisers.
The first of these events (Cuba Vive North West Rally and Fundraiser) will take place on Monday 23rd and aims to raise funds to buy health supplies and medicines that are in short supply in the Antillean nation. So far, leading UK political and trade union figures have confirmed their participation, including Kim Johnson MP (Liverpool); Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP (London); Richard Burgon MP (Leeds); Kevan Nelson, assistant general secretary of UNISON (public services union); and Sarah Woolley, general secretary of the BFAWU (food workers' union).
In addition to fundraising for the Cuba Vive campaign, the day will feature speeches, audiovisuals on Cuban internationalism and Cuba's health care system, and there will also be space to show solidarity with Palestine.
The second event (Cuban workers under the blockade) is scheduled for Tuesday 24th and aims to raise awareness among the British and international community of the difficulties faced by the Cuban people in a context of economic crisis and the strengthening of the US economic war against the country. This initiative will call to respond positively and with actions to the urgent need for solidarity that Cuba and its workers have today,
Both days of support will take place a few weeks before the Caribbean nation goes to the United Nations General Assembly to denounce the blockade, a space where it receives almost unanimous support from the world community.
Yimel Díaz Malmierca
(Taken from Trabajadores newspaper september 21/2024)