Crowds marched through the streets of London recently demanding the government start protecting workers instead of billionaires by taxing the super-rich and making big polluters pay. The event was part of the Make Them Pay rallies happening all around the globe, with attendees saying the march was “very well received” by Londoners.
All the fights are really “one big fight”
Many individuals and organizations were represented at the London rally, Freedom United among them. We highlighted how billionaire wealth has grown in parallel with forced labor and joined colleagues at Labour Behind the Label, fighting for exploited garment workers, demanding accountability for fortunes built on the backs of exploited workers in supply chains in the fashion industry.
The messages and signs were diverse, but they all stood for a common theme. Each one was there to stand up for justice at a time when an elite group has consistently prioritized profits over people’s lives. Labour Behind the Label pointed out that the million dollars owed collectively in wages to Amazon workers at the Hulu factory in Cambodia is the equivalent of just 0.2% of what Amazon owner Jeff Bezos spent on his yacht.
As reported in Left Foot Forward, Izzie McIntosh, an organizer with Make Them Pay and campaigns and policy manager at Global Justice Now, stated:
“We know our real enemies are not our neighbors or people seeking asylum, but the billionaire elite who are hoarding wealth, attacking our democracies and driving forward divisive and misleading rhetoric. It’s time to Make Them Pay.”
One organization that participated in the action highlighted that it can be challenging to bring together people who are passionate about different causes. But despite those differences, right now, the intersections of the various causes seem clear. A representative of a women’s organization said, “The climate crisis, economic fights and immigrant fights are all really one big fight.”
Executive Director of Freedom United, Joanna Ewart-James, represented the fight against billionaire exploitation of workers in their supply chains.
“Over the last five years, there’s been a substantial growth in billionaires from 691, according to Forbes, to 2781 last year. At the same time, we’ve seen a massive increase in people who are exploited in forced labor – from 12 million in 2005 to an estimated 27 million today, and that is underestimate. The rate of growth is actually surprisingly parallel, but not surprising at all, if you understand how the global economic system works.”
Tell the real stories of inequality loud and clear
The London event had a host of prominent speakers including Faiza Shaheen, a leading international expert on inequality and executive director of Tax Justice UK and Green Party leader Zack Polanski. Another among those who addressed the crowd was Reverend Helen Burnett of Christian Climate Action (CCA).
Significantly, Reverend Burnett said:
“Today we must tell stories that name the real causes of inequality, rejecting the narrative that wants us to turn against each other…Our story places the blame with the billionaires, and we need to tell it loud and clear.”
Building fortunes from fast fashion, luxury goods, tech, and delivery logistics—sectors greased by cheap labor, surveillance, these billionaires have flown quietly under the radar. Using the quiet mechanics of modern slavery, they can keep their crimes silent by controlling the narrative. And they’re counting on continued invisibility to keep getting away with their exploitation. That’s why rallies like Make them Pay are so important.
That’s also why Freedom United didn’t just march with those protesting the ongoing system of exploitation, we took further action. We started a petition to call for justice and accountability. Add your voice to ours and show them that people are watching, organizing, and ready to demand more. Together, we can upend this system that profits from forced labor and end the silence.
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