Education workers mobilising against the far right

Michael Holland

Education workers are backing the Together alliance against the far right demonstration on 28 March.

The alliance brings together over 300 organisations for a major unity protest against the rise of the far right in the form of Reform UK and fascist Tommy Robinson.

The NEU union has called on its members to join the mobilisation.

Daniel Kebede, NEU general secretary, told Socialist Worker, “we need to make the 28 March demonstration massive”.

“It is great to see such a broad alliance but when you look at Reform UK pledging to bring Ice to Britain, the demonstration has to be the start of something bigger,” he said.

Far right Reform UK has promised to launch “an emergency programme to track down, detain and deport all illegal migrants”.

Spokesperson Zia Yusuf said that Reform UK will “direct every instrument of the state to ensure that illegal migrants are removed”. This includes setting up a UK Deportation Command, a British version of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) in the United States.

Kebede argued that the union bloc at the protest “needs to be huge, with workers front and centre saying they’re opposed to the far right”.

Michael Holland, who works at a school in Lambeth, south London, told Socialist Worker, “As a teacher of primary school children I see the effects on a weekly basis. They talk about their anxieties, about racism—I’m in a primary school with children who are aware of the outside world and feel fearful about it.

“We have the power to stop the far right, but it is about organisation. We have our unions and we need to get them organised so we can prove we are the majority.”

He slammed the rise of the far right as “exacerbated by the rhetoric of the mainstream parties”. “Instead of challenging the racism of the far right, they have contributed to it.”

Michael spoke about the workplace organising that is happening to build the demonstration. “Union reps have gone into schools with pledge sheet for people to sign up to come to the march.

“As an officer of Lambeth NEU, I’ve been trying to speak to all staff members about the demonstration.

“We are getting NEU members to join leafleting sessions organised across south London. We are liaising with other local union branches so that they get leaflets so they can leaflet their own workplace,” he said.

The far right is a threat to union organisation. Nigel Farage himself declared, “I’ll make it clear, when we’re in a position of power, we will go to war with these left wing teaching unions.”

It is time to push back—and the Together alliance demonstration is an opportunity to do so. Trade unionists should turn it into a sea of union banners and flags.

• Socialist Worker will be running stories like this every day in the run-up to 28 March. Will you be on the demonstration? Tell us why you are going and who is going with you. Get in touch at [email protected] 
• For more details on the march, go to togetheralliance.org.uk