Indigenous justice is worker justice

Every year on August 9, the world marks the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, recognizing the rights, cultures and contributions of Indigenous Peoples and raising awareness of the challenges they continue to face. Established by the United Nations in 1994, the day commemorates the first meeting of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations in 1982 and promotes international cooperation on issues affecting Indigenous Peoples.

For the IUF, the day provides an opportunity to reaffirm its commitment to advancing the rights of Indigenous and First Nation peoples and strengthening the voice and representation of Indigenous workers throughout the international trade union movement.

At its 28th Congress in 2023, the IUF adopted a resolution recognizing that the history of imperialism, colonialism, war and slavery has displaced Indigenous and First Nation peoples from their lands, ravaged their cultures and traditional knowledge, devastated their health and livelihoods, and ruptured their relationship to the environment. The resolution commits IUF affiliates to strengthen their efforts to protect the rights of Indigenous and First Nation peoples, fight racism, ethnicism and discrimination, support Indigenous and First Nation leadership within unions, and protect and advance the rights, interests and livelihoods of Indigenous workers, farmers, fisherfolk and their communities.

To mark this year's observance, IUF affiliates from around the world will gather online on August 10 for "Indigenous justice is worker justice: A global virtual gathering."

The meeting will open with a traditional welcome and land acknowledgement coordinated from Ontario, Canada, followed by an invitation for participants to recognize the traditional territories from which they are joining. Affiliates from Canada, Ghana, India and Aotearoa New Zealand will then share their experiences of advancing Indigenous worker rights, reflecting on why this work has become a priority within their unions, the barriers Indigenous workers continue to face, the approaches their unions are taking today, and their perspectives on strengthening Indigenous justice within the global labour movement.

The gathering will conclude with a roundtable discussion, providing affiliates with an opportunity to identify priorities for action, discuss barriers to participation, representation and collective action, and exchange ideas on how to strengthen the representation of Indigenous workers across the IUF.

As the 28th IUF Congress recognized, Indigenous and First Nation peoples are "at the very heart of the sustainable food systems, sustainable fisheries and sustainable tourism of the future." The discussion on August 10 will contribute to the IUF's ongoing work to advance that commitment in partnership with its affiliates around the world.