Dear everyone

You may be interested in the SOAS teach in/conference on migrant workers 
taking place on 17th October.  This will be a unique and significant 
event bringing together campaigners, academics, trades Unionists and 
students alongside migrant workers. Aside from academics such as Gilbert 
Arhcar, Phil Marfleet, Jane Hardy we also have a migrant in every 
workshop and national speakers including Jeremy Dear of the NUJ,  along 
with Alex Gordon of the RMT,  Sasha Callaghan of UCU, Kevin Courtney of 
the NUT, Neil Jameson of Strangers into Citizens, Keith Best from 
immigration Advisory services. There will be serious debates on the 
questions of citizenship and amnesty and on the role of migrant workers 
in the global economy among the sessions. we will discuss the ways in 
which migrant workers have been organising on the campuses of central 
London for a living wage and the ways in which the state and 
multinational companies have responded.

The conference, organised by SOAS UNISON, SOAS UCU and SOAS Students’ 
Union on the 17th October 2009.  The conference will take the form of a 
series of seminars followed by a general plenary, at which we will 
formally launch the “Hands off my Workmate” (and “hands off my student, 
  “hands off my patient”) initiative—a broad based tool kit designed to 
build opposition to immigration controls in workplaces, colleges, 
schools, hospitals, etc.

As you may have heard SOAS University was raided by immigration police 
on the 12th June this year which resulted in the imprisonment and 
deportation of our cleaners. We believe that ISS (the cleaning 
contractors) were involved in organising this raid, which followed a 
vigorous and successful campaign to win SOAS cleaners union 
representation and the London Living Wage. All the unions at SOAS have 
been campaigning to ensure that such a shocking event never again takes 
place on our campus

The purpose of the conference is to highlight the precarious working 
conditions of migrant workers in Britain today and to use it as a 
campaigning base to bring this to the public’s and trade union’s 
attention.  The use of immigration raids against migrants who organise 
trade unions is becoming more frequent and attacks on migrants are 
gathering pace, with trades unionists in hospitals, colleges, benefit 
centres and local services increasingly asked to take on the functions 
of immigration officers. We wish to build the broadest based unity in 
defence of migrant workers and against racism and therefore are asking 
you to participate in the conference—and to encourage your members to 
participate in the “hands off” initiative.

We think your students would have a lot to contribute and a lot to learn 
at the event.

Yours truly,

Elane Heffernan (Hands Off My Workmate)
Sandy Nicholl (UNISON) Graham Dyer (UCU) Ben Sellars (SOAS students union)


Hands off my workmate.. the SOAS teach-in

MORNING Plenary: welcome migrant workers as part of the mainstream

WORKSHOPS:
Bread and roses too: how migrant workers have always been central to unions
Winning the living wage
Busting the migration myths: challenging the racists
Globalisation and profits: How do borders fit in

Poverty, war, neoliberalism, migrant labour in the global economy (why 
people move)
Stopping the raids: legal and union strategies to defend migrant workers
As above in another session
The border in the workplace: restricting welfare and housing- who benefits

strangers and citixens
The feminisation of migrant labour
What will the recession mean for migrant workers? Arguing jobs for all
We wont spy on students; education for all.


MAIN Plenary: “hands off our workmates, student, patients and friends”…..

ADDITIONAL CLOSED SESSION FOR MIGRANT WORKERS:  LEGAL BRIEFING (2:30) 
with lawyers from immigration advisory service and other leading 
migration organisations

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