Surrey County UNISON branch

Yes , it is vital that unions support workers in struggle internationally. Apart from the fact that is morally right to support say , workers in India who are being paid literally pence per hour it is ultimately in all workers interest to support each other. This is because Capitalism organaises on a global basis. A concrete example of this is what is happening in Surrey at the moment. It is quite possible in the next year or so that there could be a proposal to outsource buisness to for example call centres abroad. It is therefore in Surrey workers interests now to build links with workers internationally in these industries firstly to support their fight against sweat shop wages and secondly to look for their support if Surrey decides to outsource and move parts of the business to another country.

I think it is vital that trade unions have an international perspective. Our union has already made an important link with Ver.di of Germany. We need to work together to protect public services across Europe from the dangerous ideas of marketisation and so-called 'efficiency savings', often promoted by the EU. Our first pensions strike receieved support from the international trade union movement as they face similar struggles too -http://www.unison.org.uk/pensions/news_view.asp?did=2518

International solidarity is widely understood by our young members and young people in general. I personally became more active in UNISON because I was both inspired by a Palestine Solidarity campaign stall at our National Delegate Conference and apalled by the treatment of working class Palestinians - http://www.palestinecampaign.org/features.asp?d=y&id=559

Our union is all about protecting and furthering the rights of working people no matter who they are or where they come from. In today's globabised trade system, it is impossible to ignore the plight of extremely low paid workers around this world, toiling for many hours a day to solder/assemble affordable electronic equipment for our homes and offices:
http://www.cafod.org.uk/get_involved/campaigning/clean_up_your_computer

Or, for example, the third-world coffee farmers ripped-off by the open market because prices are fixed by wealthy multi-national companies:
http://www.maketradefair.com/en/index.php?file=coffee_chain03.htm

Yes! Trade unions have always, rightly, defended ordinary working people who are being victimised, oppressed and trampled on by dictators or multinational companies - wherever in the world they might be. UNISON has a proud record of solidarity with workers internationally and I am proud of this. Workers and trade unionists in Britain would not have the living sdandards and rights we enjoy today if trade unions and ordinary working people around the world had not supported each other throughout their existance. I would like to see Surrey UNISON twin with a sister union somewhere in the world where we can offer real, immediate solidarity.