“We are deepening and strengthening the movement all the time. Solidarity and congratulations to all those who took part.”

Workers at Malmesbury Primary School in Tower Hamlets #StandWithGaza ✊🏼✊🏾✊🏿

Our #StandWithGaza Workplace Day of Action for Palestine saw an unprecedented level of activity across the country with walkouts, protests, meetings, workshops, cake sales and more showing solidarity with the Palestinian people. Thousands of people joined actions in hundreds of workplaces as the push to take the struggle for freedom and justice for Palestine into the workplace witnessed a substantial escalation.

Strong UCU backing for the day saw particularly strong turnouts on university and college campuses as staff and students united to call out Israeli apartheid. This was particularly the case in Scotland where Glasgow, Edinburgh and St Andrews all had protests of several hundred.

This was mirrored in Newcastle, Leeds, Kings College London, London College of Communication, Goldsmiths and Bristol, where Bristol University and University of West of England walked en masse out to call for an end to the massacre in Gaza. These were just a handful of protests, with many more taking place in higher education all around the UK, from Warwick and Bedfordshire Universities to Lewisham and City of Islington College.

Lewisham UCU #StandWithGaza. Photo credit: UCU Lewisham Southwark.

But it wasn’t just universities that took a stand against ongoing Israeli massacres. PCS support for workplace protests and meetings demanding a permanent ceasefire had sizeable turnouts. Outside the House of Commons, StWC Co-Chair Alex Kenny joined a protest for Westminster civil servants and an all-members’ online meeting of around 150 discussed furthering action for Palestine in the union.

Fran Heathcoate, PCS’s new General Secretary said outside Parliament that “PCS have been long-standing supporters of the cause for Palestinian freedom…that’s why PCS is supporting events taking place across the country today and no matter how big or small, each event adds to the chorus of voices calling for a ceasefire and an end to the killing in Gaza.” Those events also included rallies outside the Scottish Parliament, Union Square in Nottingham, PCS DWP Birmingham South Branch and DWP Glasgow Reps at the City Chambers.

Health workers at St. Thomas’ and Homerton Hospitals in London highlighted the devastating picture for their colleagues in Gaza with signs reading: “NHS Workers Say Permanent Ceasefire Now”. They were joined by CWU members in a number of locations who held signs saying, “Postal Workers Stand With Gaza”.

Hundreds of school students also walked out. In London, children held a press conference in front of Parliament and read out messages to the children of Gaza, 12,000 of whom have been killed by Israel since October. Stop the War Officer Shabbir Lakha, commented that “school students have shown immense courage in standing up in solidarity with Palestinians despite the repression they have been met with in schools. Their protests are a stand against our government’s claim that it represents its citizens and in defence of freedom of speech and international law.”

As the day turned to evening Media Workers for Palestine protested outside BBC Broadcasting House in Central London, to “demand the media starts telling the truth, that Israel stops killing journalists,” as well as an end to the war. Lindsey German and StWC Press Officer Jennie Walsh called out the BBC’s complicity with Israel, particularly its failure to report the ICJ’s damning verdict over genocide.

Reflecting on the days widespread activity Stop the War’s Convenor, Lindsey German, said:

“Levels of workplace solidarity are growing. Many thousands took action in support of the Palestinians in schools, hospitals, council offices and civil service buildings. They marched along with students and school students in a display of defiance at government complicity with Israel. We are deepening and strengthening the movement all the time. Solidarity and congratulations to all those who took part.”

Here’s some more actions from the day – check the #StandWithGaza hashtag for a full list!

08 Feb 2024 • by Stop the War

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