Labour Rights Are Human Rights: Celebrating Human Rights Day 2024
As 2024 draws toward its close and we mark the culmination of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, we also note that this year marks the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
As a Union and as part of a labour movement driven by social justice, the issue of human rights is always front of mind for UFCW Local 401. We think carefully on the words of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, who says when talking about how to renew our collective commitment to human rights:
“This means embracing fully all human rights – civil, political, economic, social and cultural, as well as the right to development, the right to a healthy environment and the right to peace – moving resolutely away from the unhelpful artificial divides erected in the past. Human rights must be at the centre of rebalancing our economies so they start working for all people and for the planet. Human rights can also free us from the impasse on addressing the triple planetary crisis and equip us to manage successfully the technology revolution.”
With conflict and division all around us, an affordability crisis hurting our health and making it harder to get by, and many employers ignoring workers’ rights while claiming to be progressive, it can be hard to see how these statements really make a difference in our daily lives.
But it’s important to remember that despite divisions, disruptions, and disinformation, support for human rights remains strong around the world. Labour rights are human rights and even in the face of opposition, it’s our capacity to see and strive for the best in humanity that makes victories possible.
This year, Human Rights Day is a reminder for UFCW Local 401 that those victories are possible, no matter what obstacles are put in our way.
“Recognizing the rights of the vulnerable in our societies is how we create better workplaces,” says President Thomas Hesse of UFCW 401. “It’s how we create a better world. And it’s important never to lose sight of the importance of hope and of aiming high in that ongoing struggle.”
“Human Rights Day comes as a reminder that the fight for labour rights and for the rights of vulnerable people everywhere are one and the same,” adds Richelle Stewart, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 401. “And a reminder that we need to build solidarity in the battle for the rights of all our members to join together and show our full strength as a union.”
Members who are reflecting on human rights and what a day like this means to them have resources from the Union to inform and empower them, including our Changing Your Workplace, Changing Your World introduction to labour activism. We encourage our members to explore these and other practical resources as a starting point in building for the kinds of tough fights our Union faces in the weeks and months to come.
It is our honour as always to stand with you all for human rights on this Human Rights Day.
In solidarity,
Your Union
UFCW Local 401
Posted on: December 09,2024