Type: Think Global newsletter
Date: 17 October 2017
Campaigns: General

Welcome to the October issue of Think Global Extra, the bimonthly supplement to Think Global. Read it in conjunction with the last full Think Global from September.

Action checklist  

• Join the day of action on 28 October stop Sainsbury’s pulling out of Fairtrade
• Book a film screening of the documentary Fire in the Blood as part of the pharma campaign
• Ask your MP to sign the EDM on trade democracy and lobby your MP
• Book a film and speaker event on migration

Sainsbury’s, don’t ditch Fairtrade

Sainsbury’s supermarket recently pulled their own brand of Fairtrade tea out of the internationally-recognised Fairtrade scheme, replacing it with their own ‘fairly traded’ scheme. The new scheme is run entirely by Sainsbury’s, with no independent verification, and although it will involve paying a ‘social premium’, Sainsbury’s will determine how this is spent, not the tea farmers. Fairtrade producers have been up in arms about this, and there are fears that Sainsbury’s will swap all its Fairtrade products to its new scheme after this trial on tea. Other supermarkets may follow suit, along with a gradual watering down of benefits for producers.

We’ve been running an online action calling on Sainsbury’s not to ditch Fairtrade. Now we’ve also teamed up with development agencies to call a day of action on Saturday 28 October. The day will involve campaigners running a stall or stunt at their local Sainsbury’s and getting shoppers to sign letters against the move.

If you’d like to join the effort, there are resources on the Don’t Ditch Fairtrade campaign website. For help and advice, feel free to email [email protected] or call us on 020 7820 4900.

Pharmaceuticals

New report

We are currently preparing a big media launch of our new report in mid-October. The report exposes how UK funded research and development of new drugs gets bought up by drug companies who then sell the drugs at extortionate prices back to the NHS. The report is a joint initiative with StopAIDS and will be used for advocacy and lobbying. If you would like a copy, please contact the office.

Fire in the Blood – film screenings

Fire in the Blood is an internationally acclaimed documentary that tells the story of how Western pharmaceutical companies and governments aggressively blocked access to low-cost AIDS drugs for the countries of Africa and the global south in the years after 1996 – causing ten million or more unnecessary deaths. The story is told through contributions from campaigners and global figures such as Bill Clinton, Desmond Tutu and Joseph Stiglitz.

We have acquired a license to screen this film in 10 locations, so if you would like to organise a public screening of the film in your local area, please get in touch with [email protected]

For more information and to see a trailer: http://fireintheblood.com/

There is also an upcoming screening in Edinburgh on 5 October as part of the Edinburgh World Justice Festival. Book your tickets now.  

Speaker tour

We have invited Sibongile Tshabalala who is the deputy general secretary of the Treatment Action Campaign from South Africa to be our speaker on the upcoming speaker tour. Treatment Action Campaign has been at the forefront of the struggle for access to medicines in South Africa. The speaker tour will be part of our public launch of the campaign and there will be events in eight locations between 31^st October – 9^th November. Please come along to your nearest event and please help us spread the word with your contacts. There is an eventbrite page for each event: globaljustice.org.uk/sick-of

Migration

Short films event package

Global Justice Central London recently organised an excellent event on migration featuring several short films followed by a speaker from Global Justice Now. This event format can be replicated by other groups elsewhere. If you would like to organise such an event email [email protected]. 

The case for open borders

We recently held an event in Edinburgh asking ‘What does open borders actually mean?’ Expert speakers discussed these questions with reference to Greece, Ireland and beyond. You can watch the talks on Global Justice Now Scotland’s Facebook page.

Upcoming survey

During October we will be surveying groups and supporters who have been particularly engaged about where we go next with our migration campaigning. We are drawing up different possibilities based on the feedback from the consultation and discussions we have been having with partner organisations.

Trade justice

Parliament is back from its summer break and things are speeding up with our trade democracy campaign. The government is expected to put out a White Paper any minute now on its proposals for trade policy. We expect there will be a big hole where there should be proposals for democratic accountability and oversight of trade policy. But at the same time, there is a lot of hope, as opposition parties are already taking up this issue. The Labour shadow minister on trade, Barry Gardiner, has already said that there needs to be transparency and parliamentary scrutiny of trade deals, with parliament having a veto.

MP action on trade democracy

As you may remember, before the summer, a cross party group of MPs put forward an EDM (Early Day Motion) calling for trade democracy. We launched an online action on the day parliament returned, and supporters have been writing to their MPs asking them to sign the EDM. In just two weeks, we’ve more than doubled the numbers of MPs signing, and are in the top ten EDMs. We need to keep the pressure up on this – do share the online action if you are on social media.

This is also a key time to meet your MP to talk about this. More information on lobbying your MP is in our ‘Twenty ways to fight for trade democracy’ action guide. Do give them a copy of the ‘Giving away control’ briefing (email [email protected] if you need more copies).

Trade minister petition

There is also still time for a last push on our petition to the trade minister, Liam Fox both online and using the Dangerous Deals leaflet/postcard.Please do try and collect more signatures throughout October and get the paper postcards back to us before 10 November in advance of the hand-in of petition. If you need more copies of the Dangerous Deals leaflet/postcard, email [email protected].

Book a speaker

As always staff are happy to come and talk about the campaign, either to your group or at any public events your group might be organising. Contact Guy, [email protected] or [email protected] if you would like someone to come and speak.

We Rise – Organise! Youth activist training day

• Saturday 21 October, 1-8pm
• Bridge 5 Mill, Manchester

Global Justice Now is teaming up with Momentum, People & Planet and Demand the Impossible for a day of education, skills training and socialising for young people wanting to get more involved in activism. There will be sessions on social media skills, how to plan high-impact stunts, how to explain complex ideas in accessible ways and more.

Publicity is going live just after the release of Think Global Extra. However, full information about the event and a link to book your free ticket will be available at globaljustice.org.uk/events from Tuesday 3 October. 

George Monbiot event in Edinburgh

George Monbiot will be speaking in Edinburgh on his new book ‘Out of the Wreckage’ about creating a new ‘politics of belonging’ that can challenge the current ruling ideology of competition and individualism. Come and join the discussion at this event organised by Global Justice Now and the

Scottish Green Party. Tickets are £3: book here https://georgemonbiot-edinburgh.eventbrite.co.uk