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Migrants will stage a walkout across Britain along with protests against Donald Trump's state visit
Tool-carrying workers will be joined by those wearing their NHS uniforms and placard-waving migrants as part of the walk-out being staged by the OneDayWithoutUs campaign.
The wave of protest will be taking place right across the country on February 20.
It may not be an official strike but many people are planning to shut up shop or stage lunch break rallies to underline the contribution being made by the migrant workforce, before Britain triggers Article 50.
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The fact is migrants make a huge contribution to our society
Magdalena Williams, event organiser
Campaigners will link arms and upload a series of pictures to social media at 1pm on the “national day of action” under the hashtag #1DayWithoutUs.
Magdalena Williams, 68, a former Hungarian refugee whose parents fled to escape Communism, said she felt unwelcome after four decades in Britain.
Event organiser Ms Williams, who has recently retired from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, after starting her career as a civil servant teaching Hungarian and German to diplomats, said: “Many migrant workers don’t work in jobs with a union, so we are organising this symbolic alternative.
“We want people to wear their uniforms, or if they work on a construction site, bring their tools, maybe.
“I know some people don’t like facts nowadays, but the fact is migrants make a huge contribution to our society.
“We want to show that migrants are all around – you cannot separate into Them and Us.”
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Migrants are urged to wear their uniforms during the walkout
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Organisers want to demonstrate migrants' contribution to the UK
She added: “I love Great Britain. I chose to make it my home because it was so wonderfully diverse and tolerant.
“I was very proud of this country up until now, but I’m beginning to feel like I’m no longer welcome.”
The situation has led Ms Williams to feel unwelcome in the country she has called home for 40 years.
Kerstin Polster, 49, head coach at Dulwich Tennis Centre in south London, where she heads up a junior tennis academy, said she would support the protest after being verbally abused for the first time in 19 years of being in Britain.
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She said: “I was in Covent Garden, wearing a T-shirt with a tiny European flag, and was told to f*** off and go home.
“I reported it to police because I think it’s important that all these small incidents are recorded.
“You hear it all the time.
“A lot of my friends are being to to go home. It’s very sad.”
AFP
Protests against Donald Trump's state visit will take place on the same date
She and her fellow coaches will not go to work on February 20 to show the strength of their solidarity with the movement.
Protests will be staged on the same day as a march against US President Donald Trump.
MPs, musicians, activists and comedians will be joining forces in a bid to encourage a million people out into the heart of London in a drive to create the biggest demonstration in British history, as MPs debate plans to host Mr Trump on a state visit.
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