A team of Unite food workers headed to Spain in November for the 2024 EFFAT Congress, writes Keith Hatch.
The European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions (EFFAT) welcomed over 100 participants, from 15 countries, who gathered under the slogan Fighting Forward, for two working days in Valencia.
The Congress started with a moment of silence to honour the victims of the recent catastrophic flooding in Valencia.
The tragedy served as a reminder of the urgency of EFFAT’s mission to tackle climate change while protecting
workers and communities across Europe, and the need for a just transition.
A key focus of the first day was a panel discussion on one of EFFAT’s political priorities - Fighting forward for the people and the planet.
Speakers included Sue Longley, general secretary of the IUF (International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations), who highlighted the parallels between agriculture and tourism, industries where enormous profits are made at the expense of underpaid and precarious labour. She emphasized the need to rethink
TOLPUDDLE 2025 SAVE THE DATE!
This year’s Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival will be held over the weekend of July 18 to 20.
Held in the village of Tolpuddle, Dorset, home of the Tolpuddle Martyrs, the annual festival is held in their honour and is a very special weekend in the Landworker calendar.
Together with our wonderful friends from the Unite South West region, we are planning a great weekend of important events and debate in the Unite Marquee – together with some unmissable entertainment from Unite favourites the Skimmity Hitchers and an original play on the Ascott Martyrs.
9 uniteLANDWORKER Winter 2024 FIND OUT MORE
See
www.tolpuddlemartyrs.org.uk/ festival for more information
tourism models to create fairer, more sustainable systems for workers.
The second packed day included Unite convenors, David and Istvan Imre, from 2 Sisters (pictured), giving a surprise performance that had delegates dancing in the conference hall during a panel discussion where they talked about their experience as LGBT+ migrant workers from Romania, and how they recruited hundreds of new members through social media.
EFFAT wrapped up the Congress committing to spend the next five years strengthening solidarity across sectors and advocating for the rights of workers in agriculture, food production, tourism and domestic work.
Mark Thomas
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