Solidarity in Leyton

A festival celebrating trade union solidarity took place in Leyton on Sunday, and Unite Community members were at the heart of it. 

Unions East took place in Coronation Gardens under the banner of “Celebrating solidarity in our community and our workplaces” and pulled in a big crowd.

Despite the heatwave hitting the area there was plenty of shade under the trees and by the bandstand, where trade union speakers and left wing performers addressed and entertained people.

Speaking from the bandstand stage was Unite the Union regional officer, Tabusam Ahmed, who spoke about the way that Unite had been organising outsourced workers in local healthcare and achieved recognition for these staff members, many of whom were women on low wages from migrant backgrounds.

Tabusam highlighted how Unite had a major victory negotiating an agreement that brought 1,800 NHS workers employed by the outsourcer Serco into NHS employment.

Tabusam wrapped her speech to applause and cheers as she told the crowd, “what can be achieved by uniting voices.”

“You will not defeat us, this is the power of Unite and trade unions.”

Between the speakers people listened to the music and poetry of performers from Leytonstone Folk Club along with Steve White & Lol Ross of The Protest Family, Maddy Carty and Poetry on the Picket Line.

There was also the chance to take part in workshops run by unions and trades councils covering subjects including “Why you should join a union” and “Organising locally and in trade unions for Palestine”

The shaded areas of the Gardens were packed with campaign stalls varying from international solidarity to local community football, with one of the busiest being the team from Unite Community East London, helped by comrades from Tower Hamlets.

The branch explained how they have been busy locally campaigning on a number of issues including International Workers Memorial Day and energy price hikes. The branch is currenting focusing on cuts to benefits and calling for peace in Gaza.

Branch Chair Susan Pashkoff said, “We have been holding a lot of street stalls around benefit cuts at the moment, which has resulted in a lot of interest in the branch from the community.”

“The Unions East festival is a really good event and today has been great there has been a constant stream of people coming up the stall and we had a few people express an interest in joining the branch – so it’s been a great organising opportunity as well.”

Branch Secretary Martin Goodsell echoed this and added, “The event is fantastic and the stall has been a great way to meet people and tell them what Unite Community is about, but we are doing more than that.”

“Some of the branch members are also running kids activities, including the Unite Community ‘snakes and ladders’ board which we have laid out in the shade. The five meter square board highlights how the cost of living crisis is hitting households in the area and while fun for kids highlights the issues to parents.

Martin then had to rush off to another area of the Gardens where he was facilitating one of the workshops, which had already drawn in a large crowd. 

Everyone seemed to be multitasking, and while Jenny Kidman was helping at the snakes and ladder game, she was also staffing the London Hazards Centre stall.

Jenny is also part of the East London Housing Action Group and sits on the Unite Community national housing subgroup.

Jenny said that affordable housing was a huge issue in the area and vitally important to workers and their families and Unite Community in the region is campaigning for more social housing and for fairer, more secure tenancies in the privately rented sector.

Though Unite Community was the most visible element of the union at Unions East, other branches were involved in sponsoring the event and promoting it to there members, in particular the East London branch highlighted support from Unite London Building Workers Branch and Unite London Digital and Tech Branch – but lots of other local Unite branches, other unions and trades councils helped make the event the huge success it was.

Events like Unions East bring together people from across local communities in solidarity and get them talking, discussing ideas and organising campaigns. And as the sun beat down on a small green space in E10 Tabusam’s words about the power of trade unions couldn’t be more visible for all to see.

By Keith Hatch