TRADE UNIONISTS should work with local communities to build a US-style “black lives matter” campaign, the CWU conference heard yesterday amid rising concerns over deaths in custody.

A motion passed by the conference with unanimous support called for support for charities that campaign against “racially motivated deaths in custody” and raised concern over “the number of deaths amongst people in the UK who come into contact with the police.”

But Unison assistant general secretary Roger McKenzie, visiting the conference as a fraternal speaker, said recent protests in the US against police shootings of unarmed black men showed an effective way for unions to take part in campaigns.

He told a fringe meeting that unions should look to support community demonstrations against police brutality “without taking them over.”

“One of the things this says to me is about the importance of movements in the States at the moment around the Black Lives Matter campaigns,” he told the Star.

“The only way we can stop this kind of stuff is to build the kind of movement that American activists have with Black Lives Matter.

“There’s a real lesson for the future of trade unionism. Unions have to find a way of not just being seen as a bank account but becoming a valued partner in these campaigns.

“We don’t just turn up to a rally, it will cause resentment if we’re not there beforehand and even more resentment if we’re not there after.”

South Wales delegate Amarjit Singh said the 800 deaths in police cells recorded since 2004 amounted to “cold blooded murder in broad daylight.”
And he said justice was being denied to the families of victims.

Midland delegate Ali Moosa added: “This barbaric brutality is happening on our doorstep.”