NUJ South West England branch chair Paul Breeden lays a wreath in Castle Park in memory of journalists who have died in Gaza, Israel and elsewhere in the last year. Picture © Felix Wong
SOUTH West England NUJ took the message about the unacceptable dangers facing journalists in Gaza and elsewhere to fellow trade unionists as a day of commemoration was held for all workers who are killed or hurt while doing their jobs.
The unprecedented death toll among journalists in Gaza was spelled out at two events to mark International Workers Memorial Day.
Representatives of SWE NUJ laid wreaths to mark their fallen colleagues at both events, held in Blake Gardens in Bridgwater on April 26th and Castle Park, Bristol, on April 28th.
More than 100 journalists have been killed in the Israel/Gaza conflict since October 7th, the vast majority of them Palestinian, and Israel should do more to protect them, branch chair Paul Breeden told both gatherings.
“We don’t take sides in politics, but we do take sides with our colleagues when they are at risk,” Paul told the events. He emphasised that the NUJ mourns the deaths of all journalists killed in the conflict, including four from Israel and three from Lebanon.
He urged members of other unions to support efforts by the NUJ and the International Federation of Journalists to protect Palestinian journalists, who fear they are being targeted by Israel. The alleged targeting is being investigated by the International Criminal Court, and Paul urged fellow trade unionists to back calls on the ICC to speed up its efforts and make its findings public.
He also told the IWMD gatherings that many journalists were killed around the world – 120 last year, according to the IFJ. More than two thirds of last year’s tally were in Gaza but many were also targeted for conducting investigations into the environment, which often brings media workers into conflict with powerful vested interests.
He cited two incidents within the past two weeks to show how risky journalism can be – the injuries suffered by four reporters in Ukraine, some of them hurt when Russia conducted a “double tap” attack, launching missiles after a first strike to target emergency workers and others who rushed to the scene. He also urged authorities in Pakistan to investigate the death of journalist Tahira Nosheen Rana, where the IFJ has called on police to end “a pervasive culture of impunity for crimes against journalists”.
The gatherings heard from many other trade unionists in sectors from shipbuilding to nuclear power plant construction. The Bridgwater event was hosted by the Unite branch at the nearby Hinkley Point C nuclear construction site, which is heavily unionised and where safety is a constant refrain. But the event also heard from a union rep who worked on the Channel Tunnel project in the 1990s, where, shockingly, the death of one worker per mile of tunnel was taken as the norm.
The Bristol event, organised by Bristol Trades Council, was held by the workers’ memorial in Castle Park, and heard from representatives of the GMB, NEU, UCU, and Unison as well as the NUJ. Attendees heard about the extreme stress suffered by members at schools and universities, and the toll taken by industrial diseases such as asbestosis – all of it preventable.
The death toll among journalists worldwide was 120 in 2023, NUJ SWE chair Paul Breeden told the gathering; more than two thirds died in Gaza, where more than one in 10 Palestinian journalists has died since October 7th. Picture © Felix Wong
Kate Pearce, NUJ SWE Somerset rep, and Paul Breeden, branch chair, hold the NUJ banner at the Bridgwater event in Blake Gardens. Picture © Kate Pearce 2024
The Last Post was sounded by a trumpeter at the Bridgwater event for International Workers Memorial Day.Picture: © Kate Pearce 2024
Ines Lang, secretary of the South West TUC, addresses the Bridgwater gathering, which was organised by the Unite the Union branch at the Hinkley Point C power station project. Picture © Kate Pearce 2024
A coffin, flags and ceremonial wreaths from several unions surrounded the plinth in Blake Gardens, Bridgwater, which is a permanent memorial to workers killed or injured in the course of their work. PIcture © Kate Pearce 2024