When I first saw this art work I thought of the current refugee crisis in the Mediterranean.

Secondly I thought about all the rogue bankers getting a lifeboat while everyone else was left to drown. Primarily because of it's location near the City of London financial area.

It turns our my first guess was correct.

This location (Spitalfields) was chosen because of the successive waves of refugees that have lived here over the centuries.
The sculpture represents human dignity and everyone's right to freedom and dignity.

The title of the work is.

Wooden boat with seven people

The artist is a Greek woman named Kalliopi Lemos and this piece of art was made from the boat that was used by refugees escaping from Turkey to Greece which she acquired from where it was abandoned on a beach in Greece.

In the video below the artist explains her philosophical position and how it influences her art.

Source

Self upvoted for visibility.