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Commemorate the person who started solidarity with Solidarity

Issue date

18 Jul 2007

Commemorate the person who started solidarity with Solidarity

Photo: Polish Solidarity Campaign L-R, Giles Hart, Lech Walesa and Ryszard Stepan

Trade unionist and telephone engineer Giles Hart, who helped found the Polish Solidarity Campaign in the early 1980s and supported the growth of the independent Polish union confederation Solidarnosc (NSZZ), was killed in the 7 July London bombings in 2005. Giles was a member of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) for over 16 years. Now the TUC is joining with Giles' former colleagues, and NSZZ leader Jan Sniadek, to commemorate Giles' life of international trade union solidarity. The plan is to raise a memorial plaque in Giles Hart's memory, in Hammersmith where so many Polish migrant workers now live, to be unveiled on the third anniversary of his death in July 2008.

Cheques should be made payable to the Giles Hart Solidarity Memorial Committee, which is running the appeal, and sent to the TUC International Department, Congress House, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3LS.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber, one of the patrons of the appeal, says:

"The trade union movement in Poland played a key role in the campaign for democracy, as trade unions have in so many countries. Giles Hart was an extra-ordinary worker who didn't just feel solidarity with them in their struggle, he acted on it. Polish trade unionists are, I know, immensely grateful, and we should be immensely proud of what Giles and his colleagues achieved. Now that so many Polish workers are playing their part in the UK economy, and beginning to play their part in the UK trade union movement, it is appropriate that we remember the common bond that brings us together: workers' unity, regardless of borders or nationality. Please help mark this courageous man's life, and the continuing struggles of trade unions around the world for democracy, justice and respect. "

When he died in 2005, obituaries for Giles Hart showed what a remarkable "ordinary worker" he was. See more at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4740041.stm

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