Frank Morris, Unite steward on the Crossrail project

Blacklisted construction workers and their union leaders are the latest to show solidarity with Bahraini healthworkers imprisoned in the clampdown after the 2011 uprising. At the Blacklist Support Group AGM on 23 March, union activists took time out from discussions of their own campaign against vicitimisations and sackings by multinational construction companies to send a message of solidarity to nurses, doctors and pharmacists in Bahrain who have endured torture and long jail terms.

Gail Cartmail, Assistant General Secretary – Unite the union

Union leaders Gail Cartmail of Unite the Union and Paul Kenny of the GMB also backed the protest for the Bahraini healthworkers. Unite and the GMB organise hundreds of thousands of workers across the health and social care sector in the UK.

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What you can do:

• Pass this resolution through your union branch
  • This union condemns the imprisonment of Ibrahim al Demistani, Hassan Matooq, Ahmed Ali Almushatat, Haleema Al Sabagh, Dr Ali Al-Ekri, Dr Ghassan Dhaif and Dr Saeed Al Samahiji, and resolves to write to the Bahraini authorities calling for their immediate release, and for the release of all other political prisoners in Bahrain.
  • This union further condemns the British government’s continued willingness to sell arms to Bahraini authorities despite the ongoing repression there. Since 14 February 2011, the British government has approved at least £16m of export licenses for military equipment to the Bahrain, including small arms ammunition, body armour and training hand grenades. We call on the British government to stop the export of military equipment to Bahrain.
  • This union resolves to circulate details of the campaign for the arrested medics to our members and encourages them to take part.
  • This union further resolves to send this resolution to our region / annual conference calling on the union to mobilise a national campaign to highlight the repression against healthworkers, other trade unionists and activists in Bahrain since 2011.

• Show your solidarity with the imprisoned medics by sending a message. You can email menasolidarity@gmail.com or print out one of the signs below and take a photograph of yourself and your colleagues so that we can post on Facebook (www.facebook.com/menasolidarity ) and Twitter (@menasolidarity) to show people in Bahrain support from healthworkers internationally for their struggle.

• Put up leaflets and posters about the campaign around your workplace. If possible, make links with colleagues in the same departments and wards where the arrested Bahraini medics worked. If you aren’t a healthworker yourself, why not take some leaflets and posters to your local hospital and ask to speak to union reps about the campaign? Download a leaflet version of this webpage here.

Signs to download and print out
Ibrahim al-Demistani
Hassan Matooq
Haleema al-Sabbagh
Ahmed Ali Almushatat
Dr Ali Al-Ekri
Dr Ghassan Dhaif
Dr Saeed Al Samahiji