Motion: UNITE-SAW for intersectional working class unity: Fighting Discrimination and the Far-Right

Motion: UNITE-SAW for intersectional working class unity: Fighting Discrimination and the Far-Right

(Passed at the SAW AGM 2025 - 25th October 2025)

This branch notes:

1. On the 13th September 2025, more than 100,000 people attended a far right demonstration in London, fronted by the criminal fascist "Tommy Robinson" and featuring billionaire hatemonger and trade union basher Elon Musk, which ended with far-right violence. The unions failed to mobilise against this, and the counter demonstration organised by Stand Up To Racism (SUTR), was much smaller.

2. There is a rise in parliamentary and mainstream support for the far right all around the world, boosted by the election of Trump. The escalation of protests such as the national campaign to use the St George's Cross to intimidate migrants, as well as attacks on migrant accommodation in the UK and Europe, is exploited by a fascist right. Reform UK, now leading in opinion polls, focuses on anti-migrant rhetoric.

3. The main themes of the far right are: hostility to migrants, anti-Muslim racism, hostility to unions, cutting overseas aid, attacking civil liberties and free speech, demonising trans people, ending reproductive health facilities, support for Netanyahu’s war on the Palestinians and Putin’s invasion and occupation of Ukraine.

4. The Labour government has contributed to the far right rhetoric by tightening visa restrictions, accelerating deportations, and adopting dehumanising anti-migrant language; undermining trans rights through its response to the Cass Review and the Equality Act ruling; threatening people with disabilities through cuts to PIP; and failing to address the economic crisis facing working people.

5. The Labour government’s new visa restrictions are not just far-right politically, but also damaging to the UK economy, with the branch noting that the new VISA restrictions to migrant construction workers earning less than £41,700 undermine the construction industry and government housing targets.

This branch believes:

 1. All this takes place against a backdrop of failing public services, bankrupt councils, stagnant wages and runaway cost of living, putting most of the population under strain if not outright poverty. With a government that has been mealy-mouthed on workers' rights and a monopolised media sphere, there is little surprise that reactionaries have been able to scapegoat minorities and gain support. 

2. We are all workers. We sell our labour to a boss who profits from our surplus value. We all have an interest in common - fair compensation for our labour. But we aren't just mindless droids who shut down after work - we also have personal, social and political identities. We all have racial and gender identities, a sexual preference, a range of physical or mental abilities, languages, locations, familial situations, class background, almost anything about us. The right wants to use identity politics to scapegoat, divide and conquer, but attacks on vulnerable marginalised workers also weakens pay and conditions for ALL workers. 

3. The workers’ movement is key to defeating the right; every gain that unions can win can be a bulwark against the far right. SAW and the wider union movement represents a diverse membership and as a worker focused organisation, it is imperative that we see that a fight against identity based structural oppression is a fight for workers rights. The responsibility for our decreasing conditions are not migrants or Muslims or "moral decay" - it is capitalism and the capitalists who benefit from it.

 4. Unions must actively educate people and provide resources against Reform in workplaces and communities - politics is not about division and hate, or emulating billionaires, but building a society of equality and justice.

5. Countering the far right requires active mobilisation from the trade union movement. Unions must organise and turn out members in large numbers to visibly oppose far-right activity. This work is too urgent and widespread to be left to isolated campaign groups or the police. Recent events have shown that this is insufficient to protect our counter demonstrations and communities. Relying on others without mobilising in our communities and workplaces is dangerous.

This branch resolves:

1. A commitment to making the political case against Reform/the far right.

We will produce literature on these topics and hold meetings both internally and publicly to promote them, where we can collectively gain a better political understanding of union action against the right, and the economic situations that have brought us here. These should:

• Tackle far right myths about immigration, supporting migrants’ rights including safe legal routes for asylum, opposition to deportations and workplace raids on migrant workers.

•  Be against the “anti-woke agenda” i.e. transphobia, climate change denial, opposition to abortion.

• Supporting working-class solidarity, for trade unions and trade union membership;

• Promote union policies on taxing the rich to fund public services and reverse benefit cuts.

• Promote unity and solidarity between workers of different backgrounds in our workplaces and communities.

2. To attend trade union blocks either against the far right or in support of marginalised groups as a branch and encourage SAW members to attend.

3.  Demand Unite organises its own transport to counter-demonstrations against far right & fascist mobilisations; our union should provide legal observers, bust cards, and stewarding. A positive political message of working-class unity, equality and justice should be conveyed through banners, placards etc. 

4. To call on our union to set up organising work which will engage migrant workers. The branch will support any existing and future Unite campaigns that aim to do so. This includes putting a version of this motion to the RISC, calling for a campaign for the construction workers who have just lost their right to renew their VISAs.

5. To call on all unions to organise a national demonstration in solidarity with migrants and argue for taxing the rich, scrapping all anti-union laws and end poverty and create good jobs, homes, services and social security for all.