Trade union to stage protest against ‘far right’ Yellow Vest Movement demonstration in Belfast

The Yellow Vest Movement of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which has been criticised for exhibiting far right sympathies and racist and Islamophobic content on its social media, is due to stage a protest at Belfast City Hall on Saturday from 2pm - 3pm.

The group’s Facebook page describes the event as “Pro Brexit, Anti Globalisation, Free speech, Anti EU”.

Calling on people to support NIPSA’s counter protest, which will also take place at City Hall from 2pm, a statement issued by the union’s general secretary Alison Millar said: “Some of the language and fear being demonstrated by the literature of the far right group is misleading, factually inaccurate and is designed to instil fear. It is important that this protest is not allowed to proceed unchallenged.

“NIPSA’s General Council considered this at their meeting on January 15 and are calling on NIPSA members and activists to support the counter protest on Saturday.”

Urging “progressives” to join the counter demonstration, People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll said: “As we have done consistently when the far right try to organise in Belfast, People Before Profit will be at attending and supporting the counter demo and we encourage others to do so as well.

“We welcome NIPSA’s decision to counter this event, and call on all progressives to join it. The message in Belfast should be clear: the far right cannot be allowed to organise here or hijack progressive causes.”

Last weekend hundreds of people, many of them trade unionists, attended the Yellow Vest Occupy Belfast demonstration in the city centre calling for an end to social and economic inequality.

Yellow vest protests have spread from France, where thousands of campaigners wearing high-vis clothing have taken to the streets to demand government action over rising living costs.