AS SOME of the trade union movement’s most effective organisers and activists argue in today’s Morning Star, marking the TUC 150th anniversary this year cannot just consist of celebrating our achievements over that century and a half.

Those achievements have been enormous, of course.

Given a hostile mass media and education system that means too many people grow up without any idea of the role unions have played in winning rights we now take for granted, unions have good reason to point out that weekends off, holiday and sick pay and health and safety regulations that keep us safe at work were all forced from the bosses by unions.