Decommissioned railway tracks have been ‘repossessed’ by nature with wild birds the prominent protagonists, writes MARK SEDDON
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Tolpuddle and the task of trade unionism today
Mark Serwotka addressing May Day rally
ROGER MCKENZIE recalls the one-in-a-generation communist leader murdered at the dawn of a new South Africa 33 years ago last April 10
Ignorance of working-class history leaves working people open to deceptive narratives, demagogy and political manipulation, writes SAN SENIK
Delegates rejected calls to disaffiliate after a passionate three-hour debate, while warning the Labour leadership that working-class members demand change
TUC Cymru’s programme offers a potential roadmap for co-operation between Labour and Plaid Cymru on jobs, services and economic democracy, says DAI MORGAN
HAZEL PRING and MAX DICKINSON introduce The Angry Summer Project, a fringe for the TUC Cymru Congress
In 1834 six agricultural labourers were sentenced to seven years’ penal transportation to Australia. Their crime? Forming a trades union to defend their living standards.
Although trades unions or “friendly societies” were technically legal following the passing of the Combinations of Workmen Act 1825, their activity was strictly monitored.
A local landowner and magistrate James Frampton, having sought advice from the government, invoked an obscure law — the Unlawful Oaths Act 1797 — which prevented the swearing of secret oaths and had the men arrested.
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NICK TROY lauds the young staff at a hotel chain and cinema giant who are ready to take on the bosses for their rights
After one year of a Labour government attacking winter fuel allowance and disabled people, the trade union movement must step up regardless of who holds power, writes STEVE GILLAN
ANSELM ELDERGILL examines the legal case behind this weekend’s Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival and the lessons for today
As the labour movement meets to remember the Tolpuddle Martyrs, MICK WHELAN, general secretary of train drivers’ union Aslef, says it’s an appropriate moment to remind the Labour government to listen to the trade unions a little more