Why PCS is celebrating Refugee Week 2026

This year’s Refugee Week, which runs from today (15) until Sunday (21), has a special theme: courage. 

For refugees around the world, they need courage to face unknown journeys, learn new languages and navigate unfamiliar systems.

At a time when some seek to divide and blame, Refugee Week 2026 calls us to come together and share the courage to welcome these people, and celebrate culture and community.

Refugee Week 2026 marks 75 years since the Refugee Convention, a landmark agreement affirming that those forced to flee deserve protection, dignity, and hope. 

Keep an eye out for further content from PCS for Refugee Week 2026. 

On Wednesday, PCS will be supporting a trade union anti-racism rally in Wigan, where Martin Cavanagh - the DWP group vice president - will speak on behalf of PCS at noon, near Hindley Town Hall. 

Throughout the week, other PCS members and reps will celebrate Refugee Week in their workplaces and communities. But here are other ways your union is fighting back against racist and divisive narratives that scapegoat refugees and asylum seekers. 

Safe and secure routes 

On 25 March 2025, PCS and Care4Calais launched a new report to lobby politicians to provide a humanitarian alternative to small boats crossings.

'Safe and Secure Routes: Refugee Visa-to-Travel Proposal' proposes the introduction of a Ukrainian-style visa system that would prevent deaths in the Channel and destroy smuggling gangs overnight.

It builds on our previous campaigns opposing the Conversative government’s inhumane immigration policies, whether that’s forcing them to withdraw plans to order Border Force staff to turn back boats in the channel or getting involved in a legal challenge to see off the Rwanda policy.

The economic case for a humane asylum system

Later in 2025, a PCS and Together With Refugees jointly released a report on the economic case for a fair and humane asylum system.

Written and researched by London School of Economics academics, ‘Welcoming Growth – the case for a fair and humane asylum system’ suggested that every refugee accepted into the UK could contribute over £260,000 to the UK economy if the proposed changes within the report were adopted. 

The key proposals included quicker asylum claim processing times (6 months), legal assistance at all stages of the application process, as well as English language and employment support from the day of arrival.

ARAF strategy

At PCS’s recent annual delegate conference, delegates voted unanimously to expand and deepen the union’s anti-racist and anti-fascist (ARAF) work - much of which involves opposing dangerous, dehumanising narratives about refugees and migrants.

Our union's ARAF strategy was developed in 2014 in response to a rise in support for far-right groups and ideas arising from massive austerity cuts to services and jobs that created fertile ground for the politics of division.

The strategy has been regularly updated to take into account the changing nature of the threat and to consolidate the union’s resources to enable reps to continue to challenge racism, not least against Muslims, refugees and migrants. 

We encourage PCS members and reps to discuss these policies in branches, groups and regions, and make use of PCS resources on PCS Knowledge.