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Why Tolpuddle Martyrs' Festival 2023 is so important
The rich cannot be allowed to dictate the terms of our impoverishment — the Martyrs stood up against injustice and so must we, writes Prison Officers’ Association general secretary STEVE GILLAN
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SINCE the 1930s there has been an annual gathering to mark the story of the Tolpuddle Martyrs with wreaths laid on the grave of James Hammett followed by a procession of banners and speeches.
The struggle of the Martyrs must never be forgotten — otherwise their struggle will be in vain.
In 2023 many families are suffering from a cost-of-living crisis that wasn’t of their making. The explosion of gas and electricity prices wasn’t just a result of the Ukraine crisis nor was food inflation either, as these prices were rising well before the conflict. I recognise that the invasion of Ukraine has not helped but it is all too easy to blame that and the pandemic.
Boardroom pay has boomed with eye-watering bonuses and executive pay increasing across the food industry and utilities that have been privatised such as energy, gas, water and the railways.
The narrative for working-class people appears to be we are not to even suggest a pay rise as the Bank of England governor and those feeding off him think giving workers a pay rise fuels inflation.
That is absurd and they know it — but it doesn’t stop them trying to shift the blame onto working-class people.
One question they can never seem to answer is: how can a below-inflation pay rise fuel inflation? Of course, it doesn’t, but it is easier to say that to keep workers in their place and just accept the crumbs from the table.
Rail workers, teachers, prison officers, postal workers, nurses, care workers and many other groups of workers are just not accepting that they will have to struggle to put food on the table or pay the bills with rent and mortgage payments increasing monthly.
The Martyrs didn’t accept crumbs from the table and neither should we accept it either.
Social justice must be at the heart of everything, from affordable housing to decent, secure jobs and security in retirement. Our NHS must be protected from being dismantled and free at the point of use.
Trade unionists must be the voice for those who do not have a voice, such as the less able, our children and the elderly.
No community should be left behind and wealth should be redistributed to ensure that social justice becomes a reality.
Trade unions must be at the heart of the struggle for social justice to make the world a better more equal place to live in with no-one left behind. Racism and homophobia must be confined to the dustbin with equality for all.
The Tolpuddle Martyrs’ struggle must not be in vain, and our struggle today is as relevant as ever. I am always amazed when rich people lecture poor people about tightening their belts. The reason they say that is so they get richer and keep us in our place. Together we can rise up and win the right to social justice.
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The pressure is now on the government to deliver its promises, and that pressure is not just from the unions, but from a working class that will look to the right if things under Labour don’t markedly improve, writes STEVE GILLAN
