The letter refers to the England team as a true reflection of the wonderful diversity of working people in towns and cities up and down the country. Photo credit: Shutterstock
The TUC published a letter to congratulate the England men’s football team, and to stand in solidarity against the disgusting racist abuse that was directed towards Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho.
There is no more important priority for our movement today than to do whatever it takes to stand up against racism and secure racial justice at work.
The letter:
Dear Maheta,
Solidarity with the PFA
We write to congratulate the England team and to stand in solidarity against the disgusting racist abuse that was directed towards Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho.
The TUC is the voice of Britain at work. We exist to improve working life and promote equality for everyone and we bring together more than 5.5 million working people who make up our 48 member unions, including all the members of the England team.
Before the tournament began, Gareth Southgate set out his vision for an England team that was about more than football, that it was the duty of this England team “to continue to interact with the public on matters such as equality, inclusivity and racial injustice”. Values of course that are core trade union values.
With Gareth Southgate, this young side have provided the nation with hope and a togetherness which has not always been there and throughout the tournament we saw an England team that consistently acted with grace, verve and courage.
In his pre-tournament letter Gareth went on to say “the reality is that the result is just a small part of it. When England play, there's much more at stake than that. It’s about how we conduct ourselves on and off the pitch, how we bring people together, how we inspire and unite, how we create memories that last beyond the 90 minutes. That last beyond the summer. That last forever.”
On Sunday night, as we united to watch the finals, I reflected on the factors that made this particular tournament feel so different to previous ones, particularly the sense of unity, hope and optimism the England team had brought to us all. A team that was made up of players that are proudly working class, multi-ethnic and multi-faith. And a true reflection of the wonderful diversity of working people in towns and cities up and down the country.
The disgusting and shameful racist abuse that was directed at your members has no place in society or the workplace.
There is no more important priority for our trade union movement today than to do whatever it takes to stand up against racism and to secure racial justice at work. Wherever and whenever racism exists, wherever the conditions exist which enable racism to flourish, we must be ready to act and to call it out. But we need to do more than speak out – we must also make a difference.
Trade union members have a record of strongly opposing racism. The movement can be more visible in clocking up wins against racism, and make the challenging of racism at work as integral as defending and improving terms and conditions. There is strong commitment across the trade union movement to put unions at the forefront in the struggle for race equality.
You can download the letter in PDF format and read the full list of signatories on the TUC’s website.