E1 Situation in Ukraine, emergency resolution of the Congress of the the Trades Union Congress, issued on 8 September, 2014
Congress notes the comments of the NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on the day of the NATO summit on 4th September 2014, that the summit was taking place in a “dramatically changed security environment”.
Congress further notes that these comments follow the announcement on 3rd September 2014 from the Pentagon that the US was sending 200 US soldiers to Ukraine for “training exercises”, the first time that U.S. ground troops have been in the region since hostilities began.
Congress also notes the UN Refugee Agency warning on 2nd September that the fighting to date has displaced more than a million people and that “…If the crisis is not quickly stopped, it will have not only devastating humanitarian consequences, but it also has the potential to destabilize the whole region…after the lessons of the Balkans, it is hard to believe a conflict of these proportions could unfold in the European continent.”
Congress is concerned that the crisis has also witnessed attacks on trade unionists and the empowering of fascists groups, including the Odessa Massacre which saw that City’s trade union centre burned to the ground.
In light of the dangerous and urgent situation in Ukraine, Congress calls for:
- the General Council to hold an urgent meeting to consider how best to support those fighting for trade union rights and against fascism in the Ukraine
- an immediate, permanent ceasefire in Ukraine and a peaceful, negotiated settlement
- opposition to the use of British forces in the Ukrainian conflict
Mover: National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers
