UNISON has abandoned its annual regional council meeting at the ICC Belfast this morning after what the union says was opposition to a slide on Palestine.
UNISON's General Secretary Christina McAnea had travelled to Belfast to give a keynote speech to 200 delegates.
Following objection to a slide on Palestine stating 'Stop Genocide, stop illegal occupation and stop ethnic cleansing', all delegates left the Waterfront and formed a picket outside and now plan to finish the event elsewhere.
The graphic at the centre of the row
Organisers say the were informed on Thursday afternoon that ICC management had issues with the slide which was to be shown on Friday.
With the event under way this morning, and after learning shortly after 10am that the slide would not be shown on screen, the conference was abandoned.
Speaking to the Andersonstown News, Caitlin Ní Chathail from UNISON, who was at the event, said the union won't be "politically vetted".
"The conference had started this morning and we were still in discussions with management about the slide," she said. "At 10.05am, we were told the slide would not be shown and that was the point everyone walked out.
"We are now in our office and going to try and run the event from here."
Unison NI said: "ICC/Waterfront is in breach of its contract with UNISON. It is guilty of political vetting and it is damaging its own business plan.
"No logical explanation has been given to UNISON despite repeated attempts by the union and by many Belfast City councillors, MLAs and MPs to explain that ICC/Waterfront is totally misinterpreting Belfast City Council's policies on equality and human rights.
"The graphic that has been vetted is UNISON policy. It reflects the position of the United Nations and the International Court of Justice.
"We also believe it [the decision] to be counter to the policy of Belfast City Council, the owners of The Waterfront."
Gerry Carroll MLA said: "The decision to prohibit display of this poster is shameful, and there appears to be no specific Council policy to back it up.
"The UN Committee of Inquiry and countless academics have declared the catastrophe in Gaza to be a genocide. This is the unequivocal opinion of international experts and is not a political view.
"Given that the ICC is regularly used for political events and conferences, this appears to be a politically motivated attempt to stifle Palestinian solidarity."
And in a further development Belfast City Council's Strategic Policy & Resource Commmittee meeting this morning was suspended as news filtered through of the UNISON walkout, with councillors now seeking legal advice. The Council is the owner of the venue.
Sinn Féin's leader on the Council, Cllr Ciarán Beattie, said: “We have suspended today’s meeting until there is legal clarity around the decision to ban a graphic highlighting Israel’s genocide, illegal occupation and ethnic cleansing in Gaza.
“Highlighting the plight of the Palestinian people, who continue to face ongoing human rights violations, is not a crime nor is there anything wrong with it.
“In our opinion, this decision by Waterfront management is wrong-headed and completely ill-judged. Our solidarity is with UNISON and all trade unionists at today’s conference.
“We now await legal advice on this decision.”
ICC Belfast has been contacted for a response.
