AS we approach the 40th anniversary of the start of the miners’ strike against pit closures next year, it is striking just how little things have changed for working people and how important trade unions still are in our society.

Almost 40 years ago under Thatcher’s Tory government Britain’s coal miners went from being the “salt of the Earth” providing the coal that generated most of our electricity and kept our homes, schools and hospitals warm to being “the enemy within,” causing disruption and inconvenience for the country because we stood up to a government that was intent on destroying our industry and communities.

After the strike and the Tory government’s vicious programme of pit closures, what was left was privatised so that profit and shareholder dividends were the goals, not providing a vital commodity for the nation and decent secure jobs.

Looking at where we are now, it seems that history is again repeating itself.

The workers that not so long ago were being clapped by the PM, government ministers and the general public have gone from being our front-line essential service worker heroes to heartless strikers — people who are causing disruption and inconvenience because they believe they deserve a decent wage for the work they do; a wage that allows them to be able to pay their bills and feed their families; a wage that allows them to continue to provide the service that they want to provide and we need, and to care for our elderly and the ill, educate our children, provide a decent, reliable, safe public transport system and effective emergency services.

When they stand up for their rights collectively with their trade unions the workers are demonised by the government — a government that caused many of today’s problems by failing in their duty to ensure our nation can withstand global events such as the pandemic and the illegal war against Ukraine.

Once again, the trade unions that are fighting on behalf of and with their members are being attacked by government ministers for causing disruption and inconvenience to the general public by defending themselves.

The leaders of the trade unions whose members are taking action are being attacked by the government and right-wing press in an attempt to brand them as left-wing trade union “barons.”

The media says that trade union members are blindly following the directions of their leaders.

They fail to understand — or simply ignore — that trade unions are democratic organisations, and that trade union leaders are instructed by their members what to do, not the other way around.

They fail to grasp just how desperate people are to take industrial action. Industrial action is always the last resort.

It may be that trade union democracy is the opposite of what the current government is used to. They don’t understand that trade union leaders don’t get to head their union on false promises made in a manifesto. They get there by earning the respect of the majority of their members.

They are accountable to their members and if not then they don’t lose a ministerial position and return to the backbenches to wait until the dust settles so they can come back.

With the destruction of the coal mining industry, the government abandoned a source of energy which could, with investment in clean coal technology, still have been a source of energy for our industry, hospitals, schools and homes.

The burning of coal for electricity generation did produce CO2 which is blamed for causing climate change — as does the burning of any fossil fuel.

The easy option which was politically preferred by the Tory government (and the Con-Dem coalition government) was to close down the coal industry; to ignore the advances in carbon capture technology which could have been used to clean up the burning of coal and other fossil fuels to produce our electricity and enable us to retain our coal industry, the jobs it provided and a secure, reliable and affordable supply of electricity.

We are now paying the price for their political decisions with the current energy and cost-of-living crisis.

We have been left unprepared to withstand the global effects of the pandemic and Russia’s war with Ukraine, reliant on imported energy.

Today we celebrate our movement with the With Banners Held High festival (WBHH) in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

While WBHH started as a commemoration of the end of the miners’ strike it was always intended to be a community and trade union event for all.

Its purpose was to bring communities and trade unionists together and show support for each other as was the case in 1984-85; to remember our history to be able to shape a better future and avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.

WBHH was originally the idea of Granville and Sue Williams. The idea was to recreate the pride of the miners who marched back to their collieries proudly with their heads held high behind their NUM branch banners.

The first event was a success and was attended by many former miners who were proud of the action they took in 1984-85 in defence of their jobs and communities.

It has grown in popularity and is now supported by many other trade unions and their members.

WBHH is a show of solidarity for everyone, an event that should be enjoyed by all, to remember the past and look to the future.

The past we inherit, the future we build. A fair future for all.