Tigers, Class Struggle at Harrods: On Saturday seventh January 2017 I photographed a rally in Altab Ali Park in Whitechapel in opposition to a deliberate coal-fired energy plant and different threats to the world’s largest mangrove forest, then went to Harrods the place the United Voices of the World have been protesting with the assistance of Class Struggle calling for higher wages and situations for waiters and for them to get the entire ideas given by clients.
Save the Sunderbans World Protest – Altab Ali Park
This protest in East London organised by the UK department of the Nationwide Committee to Shield Oil Fuel & Mineral Sources, Bangladesh was part of a world day of protest to avoid wasting the Sunderbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest.
The Sunderbans, a UNESCO World Heritage website threatened by the deliberate Rampal coal-fired energy plant and different industrial developments are the house of many species together with the Bengal Tiger, and lots of on the protest had ‘tiger stripes’ on their cheeks.
The ability plant is a joint mission of the Bangladesh and Indian governments and would endanger the livelihoods of over 3.5 million individuals and make round 50 million extra weak to storms and cyclones, in opposition to which the Sunderbans function a pure safeguard. Coal can be introduced up from India on one of many rivers by means of the forest and there can be industrial growth on areas round it the place that is at present banned.
Big protests in opposition to it in Bangladesh have resulted in numerous protesters being killed, however the protest in London was fully peaceable and ignored by the authorities.
Save the Sunderbans World Protest
Harrods cease stealing waiters’ ideas – Harrods, Knightsbridge
Grass roots commerce union United Voices of the World which represents cooks and waiters working at Harrods protested outdoors along with Class Struggle calling for 100% of the service fees to go to employees relatively than the huge earnings of the homeowners, the Qatari royal household, who have been denying employees of round £2.5 million per yr.
A month earlier I had been there when UVW Basic Secretary Petros Elia had talked with Class Struggle celebrating Christmas in a pub in Wapping about what was occurring at Harrods. The corporate was holding between 50-75% of all ideas for itself and the UVW have been going there to protest in opposition to this on January seventh. Class Struggle have been eager to come back and lend their assist.
The protest was strong however basically peaceable, and was closely policed with the protesters being warned they’d be charged with aggravated trespass in the event that they entered the shop. A number of people had gone inside earlier and had left fliers concerning the low wages and awful situations of the cooks and waiters for consumers to seek out however their actions had not been observed however the protest passed off on the pavement and avenue outdoors.
There have been a number of arrests through the protest for trivial offences – together with one for letting off a smoke flare, however after the protest ended and I had left, police arrested 4 of the organisers – together with Petros Elia – as they have been packing up and held them for as much as 18 hours earlier than they have been launched on police bail.
No fees have been ever introduced, although one one that let off a firework unwisely accepted a police warning. The police motion in making the arrests seemed to be a deliberate abuse of the legislation to each apply a brief interval of arbitrary detention and to impose bail situations that they have been to not go inside 50m of Harrods to guard the corporate from additional reliable protests.
Harrods and their homeowners, the Qatari royal household, have many associates in excessive locations together with the Overseas Workplace and presumably these have been in a position to put strain on the police to take motion in opposition to the protesters.
The marketing campaign – and the protest – acquired super assist from the general public and even from a number of the right-wing press (maybe as a result of Harrods is owned by foreigners) and Harrods rapidly introduced that 100% of ideas can be shared underneath an accountable system. You’ll be able to learn extra and watch a 5 minute video of the protest on the UVW site.
And naturally see many extra of my footage and captions at Harrods cease stealing waiters’ ideas.
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Tags: 2017, abuse of the legislation, arrests, Bangladesh, cooks, Class Struggle, coal-fired energy, detention, Harrods, India, January 2017, reliable protest, London, mangrove forest, peter Marshall, Petros Elia, police, police bail, protest, Qatari royal household, Rampal, Sunderbans, tiger stripes, ideas, United Voices of the World, UVW, waiters ideas, World Heritage Website
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