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Campaigners for Women Against State Pension Inequality Campaign (Waspis) gather at the statue of political activist Mary Barbour, the woman who led rent strikes during the First World War, in Govan, Glasgow, to mark International Women's Day, August 18, 2023
STAY in your unions and fight for women’s rights, feminist campaigners urged at a packed Labour Women’s Declaration fringe meeting in Liverpool on Monday night.
FiLiA spokesperson Kiri Tunks rejected talk of building a new women’s union and tempting women away from workplace representation.
“Women have been let down by organisations that are supposed to represent us, but women in unions have better pay and working conditions than those who are not.
“We need to be present in our CLPs, union branches and policymaking bodies. We have been attacked and demonised, but we refuse to be expelled!” she declared to prolonged applause.
Violence Against Women tsar Jess Phillips pledged to be the voice of women and girls in the new Labour government but warned that there “will be times when you will be disappointed.”
“You can’t resign over everything. You have to pick your moment,” she quipped.
Working-class women lead the fight for fair work and equitable pay and against sexual harassment, the rise of the far right and years of failed austerity policies, writes ROZ FOYER
ANN HENDERSON looks at the trailblazers of the Women’s Trade Union League and their successful fight for female factory inspectors — a battle that echoes in today’s workplace campaigns
KAY GREEN explains how the Middle East and colonialism were explored at at last weekend’s FiLiA conference
Educators must fight for an inclusive, creative system that values all children