Dear President Olexandre Dzhulyk,
On behalf of more than 300,000 members of 30 affiliated unions, the New Zealand
Council of Trade Unions stands in solidarity with the working people of Ukraine in
calling for the immediate withdrawal of all Russian forces.
The NZCTU also sends our solidarity to the working people, in both Ukraine and
Russia, who have bravely protested against the invasion.
The international union movement has a deep and longstanding commitment to
the cause of peace and human freedom. We know that in any armed conflict, while
some politicians and business interests benefit, working people on both sides
suffer.
The NZCTU supports the International Trade Union Confederation's call for Peace,
Dialogue and Democracy in Ukraine, and for:
- world leaders to take urgent and definitive steps to initiate dialogue and find
a peaceful solution to this crisis in line with the Charter of the United Nations;
sanctions which focus particularly on oligarchs and the entourage of
President Putin;
- governments to provide safe haven for all refugees fleeing the conflict -
Ukrainians and foreign workers and students;
- the protection of civilians and safe humanitarian access.
We stand united as working people in calling for an immediate end to Russia's
invasion of Ukraine.
