Delegation to Guatemala
CUPE National, along with the Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Maritime-based group Breaking the Silence, will be part of a delegation to Guatemala in March to work in solidarity with coffee producers organized with the Comité Campesino del Altiplano. Dubbed the Education in Action project, the delegation will support the efforts of grassroots organizations to improve livelihoods of Mayan farmers in Guatemala through initiatives based on social justice and fair trade.
PSI North America Meeting
CUPE National President Mark Hancock participated in the Public Service International (PSI) North American Binational Meeting in Washington, DC at the end of February. Given the recent election of Donald Trump, this was an important opportunity for CUPE to express our solidarity with our sisters and brothers in the US and to determine how we can best support them to fight back against the anti-worker legislation that is being introduced. This meeting also focussed attention on preparation for the PSI World Congress taking place in the Fall of 2017.
Just Peace in the Philippines
Following the 2016 election of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, CUPE National has supported several calls for justice and peace in the Philippines. We have sent letters expressing our support for the resumption of the peace talks between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the National Democratic Front Philippines (NDFP). We have called for the release of all political prisoners and for a stop to the so-called “war on drugs” linked to extra-judical killings. We remain hopeful that another round of peace talks will take place in April 2017.