200th Anniversary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade
11th Annual STUC Black Workers’ Conference Saturday – Sunday 20-21 October 2007 Salutation Hotel Perth
The 11th Annual STUC Black Workers’ Conference will this weekend (Saturday – Sunday 20-21 October 2007) commemorate the 200th Anniversary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade. Black and minority ethnic trade unionists from across Scotland will meet in Perth to acknowledge and debate the horrific and damaging legacy of racism and discrimination that the slave trade has left with us, even 200 years on.
Speaking on the eve of the Conference, the Black Workers’ Conference Chair Habib Hashmi said:
“It is right that we commemorate the 200th anniversary of abolition of the brutal and racist Slave Trade. Whilst the Atlantic Slave Trade is no more, the enduring legacy of racism and discrimination has remained and continues to blight modern society.
“We should not forget the exploitation and slavery that still continues today. Modern Day Slavery lives on through the bonded labour, human trafficking, and exploitation that so shockingly exists in the UK and across the globe. It is vital that the STUC continues its campaigns to bring an end to these outrageous and inhuman practices”.
Delegates at the Conference will also debate how we support migrant workers, call for the right for asylum seekers to work, and campaign to ensure racism and fascist politics are not given public air time.
Conference will be addressed by: Morag Alexander, Scotland Commissioner for the Equality and Human Rights Commission Bashir Ahmad MSP Professor Geoff Palmer, Honorary President, Edinburgh and Lothians Race Equality Council Phil McGarry, STUC President
ENDS
For further information contact Mary Senior t 0141 337 8100 Media representatives are invited to attend. For assistance contact Kevin Buchanan 0141 337 8100