The branch committee on 20 October voted to send a message of support and make a £100 donation from Camden UNISON to the Occupy London protest camp outside St Paul’s Cathedral. This followed from a motion passed at a meeting of Crowndale Centre UNISON members the day before.
Occupy London had agreed to support the strikes on 30 November and other actions ‘to defend our health services, welfare, education and employment, and to stop war and arms dealing’.
The full text of the motion is below.
This Committee notes:
· The development of the worldwide movement of protest against the violence and exploitation of the capitalist system
· The 1,500 protests held in 82 countries on 15 October
· The establishment of the Occupy London protest camp outside St Paul’s Cathedral
We further note that the Occupy London manifesto states:
1. The current system is unsustainable. It is undemocratic and unjust. We need alternatives; this is where we work towards them.
2. We are of all ethnicities, backgrounds, genders, generations, sexualities, dis/abilities and faiths. We stand together with occupations all over the world.
3. We refuse to pay for the banks’ crisis.
(Points 4 and 5 omitted from motion for space reasons)
6. We support the strike on 30th November and the student action on the 9th November, and actions to defend our health services, welfare, education and employment, and to stop war and arms dealing.
7. We want structural change towards authentic global equality . . .’
We therefore agree to:
· Send a message of support from Camden Unison to Occupy London
· Make a donation to Occupy London to help with food, blankets, etc.
Since the branch committee adopted the above motion, a second camp has sprung up in Finsbury Square, near Liverpool Street station. Participants in the occupations have told visitors that they would be grateful for any or all of the following items:
* Marker pens
* Gaffer tape
* Long extension leads
* Torches
* Fresh produce (especially bananas)
* Bottled water
* Reusable cutlery and crockery
* Tents
* Sleeping bags and blankets