Moving workers memorial day service remembers dead and pledges to fight on for living

Photo by Norman Adams

Aberdeen Trades Union Council hosted a very moving Workers’ Memorial Day ceremony at the beautiful Persley Walled Garden in Aberdeen on Friday 28 April 2023.

Chaired by President, Graham Farquhar, those gathered laid wreaths to remember all those killed, injured or made ill at their work. Wreaths were laid by many trades unions and community groups as well as by ATUC and Aberdeen City Council.

Trade union speakers and politicians all spoke powerfully of the importance of keeping up the fight for proper health and safety legislation and regulation and called on us to "remember the dead, fight for the living."

Joyce Davies

We were joined by Joyce Davies whose father was killed when she was 8 in the James Watt Street fire in Glasgow in 1968 when 22 people died in a furniture factory. Joyce spoke poignantly on the huge impact it has had on her life, highlighting that a death at work has a wide-reaching effect on family and friends and across generations.

It brought powerfully home the importance of keeping up the fight for decent health and safety laws and regulation and the need to hold employers to account here and across the world.

There followed a minute's silence to remember and mourn the workers who went to their work and never came home, and to reflect on the impact on families and communities.

More photos below

Aberdeen Trades Union Council delegates at the STUC Congress

 This year's STUC Congress was held in Dundee from 17-19 April. ATUC delegates were Scott Sutherland, Morag Lawrence and Mike Martin.

ATUC submitted three motions all with an international theme. These were: "War in Ukraine", "AUKUS pact" and "FIFA World Cup". They also had an emergency motion admitted to the agenda "Campaign for a Climate Emergency Resilient Just Transition."

All three delegates spoke to ATUC motions and Morag also spoke to a NASUWT motion highlighting the disgraceful decision by Aberdeen City Council to close six libraries. Reports of their input will follow:

Morag Lawrence highlighted that in Aberdeen, campaign groups are fighting to stop and reverse library closures. 

Morag Lawrence told delegates that the recent information brought to us by the United Nations Climate Scientists warn us that the urgency to reach a true net zero is far more imminent than first thought

Scott Sutherland told Congress that ATUC's motion sought to consolidate the Qatar resolution adopted at last year's STUC Conference in Aberdeen.

Mike Martin told Congress we oppose the unilateral use of force against any sovereign state in contravention of the United Nations Charter and international law.

Mike Martin said that the AUKUS pact is being justified on the basis of upholding the ‘rules-based order’, yet the treaty undermines the rules of international law

AUKUS pact makes world more dangerous

Congress backed ATUC’s call to condemn the Tory government’s 2022 AUKUS pact for the provision of nuclear submarines for Australia and mandating an increased military presence by Britain and the US in disputed waters.

The motion from Aberdeen Trades Union Council was opposed by some unions concerned with the employment of their members. However it was supported by the STUC General Council and was passed on a card vote.

Moving the motion, ATUC delegate Mike Martin explained that AUKUS is a military partnership between the UK, the US and Australia, that was signed in September 2021. Billed as ‘a landmark defence and security partnership’, its key military focus centres on ‘the development of joint capabilities and technology sharing’, deeper integration of security and defence-related science, technology, industrial bases and supply chains.

Congress supports Ukraine but votes down composite motion

ATUC’s motion on Ukraine was merged into a Composite with motions from other affiliates. It called for an end to the supply of weaponry and for peace negotiations. However it was opposed by the STUC General Council who issued a counterposed  “Statement on Ukraine”.

The statement agreed the need for peace talks but did not believe that these could effectively take place if support for Ukraine was withdrawn as “implied by Composite Q”

On a show of hands the Composite was defeated, albeit with a substantial minority in favour.

Moving the composite, ATUC’s Mike Martin reminded delegates that on 24 February 2022, the Russian Federation launched a military intervention into Ukraine, marking a serious escalation of the civil war in Eastern Ukraine which broke out in early 2014.

“We oppose the unilateral use of force against any sovereign state in contravention of the United Nations Charter and international law.

Qatar legacy must not forget workers killed and their families

Congress was warned that although the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is over, the impact continues on the families of those who died in the construction of the stadiums or those who were injured.

Aberdeen Trade Union Council’s motion called for a high profile campaign to keep up the pressure on the Qatari government to pay compensation to these workers and their families.

Moving the motion, ATUC delegate, Scott Sutherland told Congress that the motion seeks to consolidate the Qatar resolution adopted at last year's STUC Conference in Aberdeen.

“The football World Cup is over, but its legacy remains.” He warned that FIFA and the Qatari Authorities want us to remember a major sporting event to be proud of.

“However,we remember their legacy for different reasons. Are they proud of an atrocious human rights record? Homophobia? Transphobia? Sexism? Lack of Democracy?

“To all these questions and more, we still have no answers.

Urgent action needed on climate crisis

Congress overwhelmingly backed an emergency motion from ATUC which highlighted the need for urgent action on the climate crisis.

It heard that UN climate scientists have delivered a final warning on the climate crisis to act now before it’s too late, after a flurry of recent reports showed the urgency of taking action to reach real zero by 2035 not 2050, the UK Government target.

Moving the motion, ATUC’s Morag Lawrence told delegates that the recent information brought to us by the United Nations Climate Scientists warn us that the urgency to reach a true net zero is far more imminent than first thought.

“This means that the government and others with target dates of 2050 now clearly need to be aiming for 2035,” warned Morag.

She pointed to a report by the Uk governments own Climate Agency, which states ‘There has been a lost decade failing to deliver any progress towards a climate resilient infrastructure'.

“This is due to their own inaction,” slammed Morag.

STUC demands councils save our libraries

Congress slammed attacks on library provision, recognising the key importance of libraries for our children and our communities.

It recognised the importance of library provision especially for already disadvantaged children and communities, and backed a campaign for investment to ensure that every school in Scotland has access to good quality school library services. The STUC will also support broader campaigns to increase funding for public library services.

Supporting the NASUWT motion on behalf of Aberdeen Trades Union Council, Morag Lawrence highlighted that at this very moment, in Aberdeen campaign groups are fighting to stop and reverse library closures. 

“A total of 6 libraries have been closed in the last month in Aberdeen alone,” she said pointing out that “this situation makes it even more vital that our children have access to a good quality school library service.

 Morag added, “In the case of Woodside Library in Aberdeen. local councillors should learn from John Anderson who wrote to Woodside Library Trust in 1883 on the occasion of his gift of the library.

“He said 'This library needs to be protected from ruthless hands, to upset my good intentions.'  Unfortunately this letter has not stopped them,” warned Morag, urging support, which delegates gave overwhelmingly.