Event Details:
Please check the original event link for any updated information or last minute changes, we don’t accept responsibility for out of date information.
- This event has passed.
A day school on Defence Diversification for Labour activists, trade unionists and peace campaigners. We want secure employment, socially useful production and an end to arms sales to repressive regimes.
SPEAKERS
Fabian Hamilton MP – Shadow Minister for Peace and Disarmament, has been given responsibility for developing a Defence Diversification Agency, working with front bench colleges to integrate it into broader industrial strategy.
Barnaby Pace is a researcher and writer on the arms trade and has produced reports on the subject for both Corruption Watch UK and Scientists for Global Responsibility. At the conference he will be launching his latest report Defence Diversification: International Learning for Trident Jobs, exploring the factors that led to the success or failure of previous efforts both in the UK and abroad.
Ann Feltham is Parliamentary and Trade Union Co-Ordinator at Campaign Against the Arms Trade. She’ll be discussing the particular subsidy regime applied to the arms export industry and how similar support might bolster other skilled UK manufacturing sectors such as the renewable energy industry.
BACKGROUND
The UK arms industry has been haemorrhaging jobs for decades, with UNITE identifying over 50,000 job losses between 2006-2016. Despite increasing international arms sales (particularly to the Middle East), in the past year both BAE Systems & Rolls Royce have announced thousands of further skilled job losses mainly affecting the North of England.
Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour leadership bid laid out plans for a Defence Diversification agency to involve communities heavily dependent on arms production in a ‘just transition’ to more sustainable employment.
The 2017 TUC conference backed such a plan, passing Motion 17, calling for Labour to create a ‘shadow’ Defence Diversification Agency at the earliest opportunity. However, the plans still face opposition from Labour MPs wanting to appear tough on defence and Trade Unionists skeptical about previous diversification efforts.
This conference in Leeds will bring together Labour and Trade Union activists with disarmament campaigners to explore what such a ‘just transition’ would look like and how we make it a reality. The afternoon will be split into two sections, the first featuring expert speakers and a Q&A; the second, parrellel small group sessions on taking the ideas forward. The second sessions will be a chance to meet other campaigners in your area to brainstorm ideas.
SMALL GROUP SESSIONS
These parrellel sessions will begin with a short presentation and then continue with small group discussions, potentially split by trade union, CLP or geographical area.
WORKSHOP 1 -“How to influence policy in the Labour Party: an Intro to Local and National Structures and Your Route in” (for Labour Party members)
Aneesa Akbar – While Aneese is just 26 years old she’s got involved in politics in a serious way since joining CND at the age of 15. She sits on Momentum’s National Co-ordinating Group and in May was elected as a local Labour Councillor in Hull.
George McManus – Yorkshire & Humber representative on the Labour’s National Policy Forum the body responsible for formulating Labour policy.
WORKSHOP 2 – “From Policy Adoption to Practical Action: Creating change in your Trade Union” (for Trade Unionists)
Kev Allsop (Unison) – Kev is a life-long trade unionist and campaigner, representing Unison on his local trades council and the local government pension fund. He was instrumental in changing Unison’s policy to divest pension funds from fossil fuels. A policy later adopted by the TUC. He currently works with 350.org’s ‘Divest Parliament’ project.
WORKSHOP 3 – “Mounting a successful local campaign, how to get started” (for everyone else)
Ann Feltham & Rachel Melly Campaign Against the Arms Trade.
CAAT recentley launched a successful campaign to bring to UK government to court over it’s arms sales to Saudi Arabia due to there use in war crimes in the Yemen. They actively campaign with international partners against the promotion of arms to repressive regimes, corruption and increased military spending.