THE trade union movement has a long and proud history of solidarity with the Palestinian people, however over the last two years as we have watched a genocide live-streamed across our screens this solidarity has increased significantly.

There has been a large and vibrant trade union bloc at each of the 32 national protests, with many general secretaries speaking.

There has been a reinforcement and strengthening of policies across the whole movement, including at TUC, with NEU again pushing a motion in September 2025, highlighting Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza, the impact on workers, and calling for the immediate end of all arms trade and military collaboration with Israel.

The TUC also voted to “…uphold and strengthen the right to peaceful protest following the arrest of activists, including Ben Jamal, on peaceful Palestine Solidarity Campaign marches.”

This is now particularly important as the government has announced it will provide even further draconian powers to the police to curtail our right to protest. This includes an attempt to stop sustained protests — this is directly aimed at the Palestine solidarity movement which has for two years continued to build huge marches on the streets of London.

The proposed changes are likely to have wide-ranging consequences and will not make anyone safer, the arguments for them rely on a false characterisation of the movement for Palestinian rights.

There are already existing laws which we have seen being used to  impose stifling restrictions on the right to protest. The proposal for enhanced police powers is an undemocratic response to protests and political disagreement.

Earlier this year 22 general secretaries spoke out against the attack on our right to protest, calling for all the charges to be dropped and stating: “We believe these charges are an attack on our right to protest … the freedoms to organise, of assembly and speech matter; we must defend them.”

They added: “We are deeply concerned that the Metropolitan Police are bringing charges against former NEU executive member Alex Kenny and Sophie Bolt, CND secretary, following the peaceful protest for Palestine in London on the 18th January. These charges follow the decision to prosecute Chris Nineham, Stop the War Coalition vice-chair, and Ben Jamal, Palestine Solidarity Campaign director. Alex Kenny is a longstanding and widely respected trade union activist who has organised peaceful demonstrations in London for decades.”

Over the last two years the government has done all it can to demonise our marches, to silence us and to suppress our right to protest.

We have the fundamental right to protest, to ensure our voices are heard and to speak out against injustices and what we have witnessed over the last two years in Gaza and still continuing now is horrific.

We are told that we are causing disruption. Protest is meant to be noisy — it is meant to disrupt, that is the whole purpose. We want our voices to be heard and our demands to be met. We stand in a long history of struggle from the protests against apartheid in South Africa, the war in Iraq and the suffragettes fighting for votes for women — our society is better for the protests that have come before us.

Those before us fought for this right and we must fight to keep it. Let’s be clear — if they stop us protesting for Palestine they will stop us protesting on other issues. They have already targeted climate change activists and they will come for our movement to silence our voices.

Alongside this, with the proscription of Palestine Action, the government is threatening all of our freedoms and democratic rights. The government has chosen to redefine the meaning of terrorism in a way that serves to criminalise dissent.

Throughout history, every solidarity movement and struggle against colonialism has used a diversity of tactics. Unable to politically defeat the movement against Britain’s complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza, the government is turning to repression.

Our solidarity is needed now more than ever, not just in our words but in our actions too. We cannot allow our movement to be silenced — we must continue to march, to protest, to boycott and to raise our voices for justice for the Palestinian people but also to protect our fundamental right to protest.

The PSC trade union conference on Saturday November 22 in London will feature a series of workshop sessions, one of which will be focusing on the right to protest and why and how trade unionists and their unions need to take action.

Unions are already taking action to defend their members and to support the right to protest, but we are now facing a fundamental challenge to this right. We need to step up our solidarity with the Palestinians as well as defend our own rights.

Louise Regan is chair of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and a national executive member of the National Education Union.

Conference details: PSC Trade Union Members Conference – Workers Organising Against Genocide; Saturday November 22, 10am-4.30pm; Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Rd, London E1 6LA; more information at https://tinyurl.com/PSCTUconference.