THE TUC is organising a march and rally in celebration of union history and to stand up against Tory attempts to restrict the right to strike.

Trade union members and branches have been invited to attend the rally in Cheltenham — home of spy hub GCHQ — on Saturday January 27.

Forty years ago, on January 25 1984, Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government attacked trade union rights at GCHQ, with union members told to resign their membership or be sacked.

Fourteen refused to do so and were dismissed, but after more than 13 years’ campaigning backed by the labour movement, the ban was overturned in 1997 and staff at GCHQ are now members of PCS. 

The government is now restricting the right to strike for over five million workers after introducing the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act last year, which threatens workers in certain sectors who vote to take strike action with the sack if they do not strike-break.