Tony Burke, Chair VSC, Opening Speech Venezuela Solidarity Campaign AGM 2023

Welcome all to this 2023 Annual General Meeting and its pleasure to be the opening speaker for the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign at this event today.

We are holding this event at an interesting stage for Latin America and Venezuela, with the next US Presidential elections approaching fast and political change on the agenda in a series of Latin American countries.

In terms of today’s agenda, it’s been eight years or so since the United States first imposed sanctions on Venezuela, absurdly declaring Venezuela “an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States”.  

Under Trump those sanctions – which are illegal under international law – were ratcheted up to become a blockade of the sort that Cuba has endured for decades.

The impact has been devastating. A UN report earlier this decade described how these sanctions have completely debilitated the Venezuelan economy, massively degrading peoples’ living standards.

In the last few years, Venezuela has emerged from the pandemic with signs of economic recovery, but these harsh US and other sanctions are still a major concern. 

There was perhaps a sliver of hope that when Biden took office there might be some relaxation of the blockade. But Biden dashed that hope initially by renewing the declaration of a state of national emergency regarding Venezuela. Whilst some minor relaxations have taken place, the bulk of these illegal sanctions remain in place.

In the VSC we are clear that dialogue and peace are the way forward, not sanctions and aggression.

Here in the UK we also need to keep talking about the ownership of Venezuela’s gold, held by the Bank of England, that rightfully belongs to the Bank of Venezuela. This is still an issue that VSC needs to keep campaigning on – boosted by the decision of Portugal to return assets to their rightful home of Venezuela.

To conclude, the overarching issue that we need to carry on campaigning on is the sanctions imposed by the US, with support from the British government, Canada and the EU.

This means raising it in our union branches and other organisations. We need to continue seeking support for our petition and explain why sanctions are unjust, illegal and so harmful to the Venezuelan people, especially the poorest and most vulnerable

Our solidarity is an important source of strength and comfort to the Venezuelan people – thanks to everyone for attending today.

Glenn Thompson of the Australian Shipbuilding Federation of Unions addressing CSEU delegates.

Unions representing shipbuilding, aerospace and defence workers have agreed a job and union protection agreement which was launched at the recent conference of UK trade union federation the CSEU.

The agreement was reached by the Australian Shipbuilding Federation of Unions, the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions in the UK, the AFL-CIO Metal Trades and IndustriALL Global Union. The agreement provides for unions to co-operate in ensuring union the representation of workers employed in the building,  build, and refurbishment of submarines and other vessels in Australia, UK and the USA.

The deal provides for workers seconded to sites outside their own countries to be represented by the appropriate trade unions in the host countries – from design to decommissioning of vessels; to build trade union power and influence and to ensure that workers in Australia, the UK and the USA are treated fairly , that the highest common standards apply, and co-ordinating trade union activities to maximise union power.

Workers seconded to another country will received union representation and have full access to local shop stewards and their union. 

The unions agreed to ensure that they take responsibility for future generations and that workers are treated with dignity and respect.

Glenn Thompson Australian Manufacturing Workers Union National Secretary and national convenor  of the Australian Shipbuilding Federation of Unions outlined details the deal to UK delegates in Birmingham and Ian Waddell, General Secretary of the CSEU told delegates that this was the first agreement of its kind connected with AUKUS and was a real breakthrough showing what can be done when unions work together. Also taking part in the signing of the deal were Atle Hoie General Secretary of Industrial Global Union and Anna Fenley director of regulatory and state policy of the United Steelworkers Union representing the AFL-CIO.

Under the AUKUS pact, the US and UK will share nuclear propulsion technology with Australia and the project is expected to create and safeguard thousands of highly skilled jobs and apprenticeships  in the three countries.

The change of Twitter’s bird logo – named Larry after the US basketball player Larry Bird might seem strange and the name change to simply X (owned by X Corp) a bit sinister.

But it is not just a name change or rebrand – Elon Musk’s plan is to build a ‘super app’ modelled on those now powering ahead in South Asia is emerging – and explains why Musk was prepared to fork out $44 billion to buy Twitter. The  implications are massive.

Twitter now X will no longer just be a messaging service, that is clear. Its future is now focused on being a ‘super app’ providing services including on-line retail, payment and delivery services, content provision and messaging.

Elon Musk dismantled Twitter and sacked 50% of of its worldwide staff while reducing moderation of its content, with the subsequent growth in fake news, rumours and abuse. It earned revenue for its ‘blue tick’ verification which was branded a gimmick, and limiting the number of messages Twitter users can read.

Super apps are now rampaging ahead in South Asia  including China’s WeChat and Moj, India’s PayTM, Indonesia’s Golek and Singapore’s Grab which now provide on-line shopping, booking tickets for gigs and events, booking taxis and ride services, making cashless payments, personal communications and booking parcel collection and delivery.

WeChat like Twitter, was originally a social media platform, but today it offers a wide range of services not just messaging but payment and many other services and has around 1.3 billion users in China alone. Estimates are they spend a third of their waking lives using the super app.

Dedicated Twitter users may be moving to Meta’s Threads platform but if Musk’s gamble  works the switch to the X super app will become dominant, leaving those without the technology or ability to afford it in the rear view mirror, the technologically left behinds creating bigger gap between the have and have nots.

There are also significant implications for jobs and job security, lines will be blurred. Pundits say to expect a growth in ‘one stop’ SME’s using the super app, but the acceleration of technology concentrated in the hands of one person is a frightening prospect.

As Louisa Bull Unite National Officer for the Graphical, Paper, Media & IT and Services Sectors says: “We have gone from the world of media ownership in the hands of a few to our minds and purchasing power being in the hands of a minority of extremely powerful influencers.”