Head of education, campaigns and organising for the General Federation of Trade Unions HENRY FOWLER explains why it is launching a fund to support trades councils and give them access to a new range of courses and resources

IT IS the summer of 2022, inflation is through the roof, London is burning and we are seeing a strike wave across the nation. Call it what you want, the summer of discontent, the summer of solidarity or even “hot strike summer” — we are in unprecedented times.
A perfect storm of war, climate change, pandemic and economic crisis is leading to workers throughout the country saying “enough is enough.”
Strike Map (www.strikemap.co.uk) has mapped hundreds of picket lines in the past few weeks alone, with even more yet to come; over 100,000 postal workers have voted for strike action this week, wildcat strikes and sit-ins are spreading at Amazon and even some of the more (small c) conservative professions such as barristers are withholding their labour.




![Strike Map activists visit striking refuse workers in Birmingham, April 29, 2025 [Pic: Strike Map]]( https://msd11.gn.apc.org/sites/default/files/styles/low_resolution/public/2025-05/DSC_0753.JPG.webp?itok=UCYB6Qpj)
As Birmingham’s refuse workers fight brutal pay cuts, Strike Map rallies mass solidarity, with unions, activists, and workers converging to defy scab labour and police intimidation. The message to Labour? Back workers or face rebellion, writes HENRY FOWLER and ROBERT POOLE

