Solidarity Without Borders: GMB London Welcomes Ukraine's Nuclear Workers

GMB London today welcomed a delegation from Atomprofspilka, the trade union representing nuclear energy workers across Ukraine, in a visit that reaffirmed the deep bonds of solidarity between our two movements.

As the union at Sizewell C, GMB London was proud to open its doors to colleagues who share the same trade, the same pride in their work and the same commitment to the people they represent. 

The delegation spoke with candour and courage about the reality facing their members at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the largest nuclear facility in Europe, which remains under Russian occupation. Their accounts were harrowing. Workers and their families are living under occupation, holding the line at one of the most sensitive sites on the continent while enduring conditions no worker anywhere should ever have to face. 

Solidarity means more than warm words, and so GMB London has made two lasting commitments. We will twin our Sizewell C branch with our sister branch in Ukraine, binding our members together in a partnership built to endure. And every Ukrainian Independence Day, on 24 August, we will send a donation in recognition of the courage of the workers who keep Ukraine's lights on under the most impossible of circumstances.

Tony Tanushi, GMB London Sizewell C Officer, said:

"Meeting our colleagues from Atomprofspilka was a humbling experience none of us will forget.” 

"We do the same work, we share the same values and today we became family. The stories we heard from Zaporizhzhia will stay with every one of us.”

"Our members at Sizewell C stand shoulder to shoulder with the nuclear workers of Ukraine, and we will keep standing with them, every Independence Day and every day in between, until Ukraine is free."

"We look forward to the day we can travel to Ukraine and meet these members on their own soil, in a country liberated from Russian aggression and occupation. Until that day comes, our solidarity will not waver."