With Rishi Sunak’s Tory government promising new restrictions on the right to strike, it is more urgent than ever that the entire labour movement unites to resist anti-union laws.
Free Our Unions was initiated by The Clarion magazine and Lambeth Unison. It is now backed by dozens of unions branches, committees, and local Labour Parties. Five national trade unions – IWGB, FBU, RMT, PCS, and IWW – have supported the campaign via their Annual General Meetings and/or National Executive Committees or equivalents. It was initially established to promote and amplify policies passed at Labour Party conferences calling for the abolition of all anti-union laws, not only the most recent, and to demand Labour fight for this policy in opposition and commit to enacting it in government. (For more background to the campaign, click here.)
Free Our Unions now plans renewed campaigning against the Tories’ proposed new laws, and is calling for united and coordinated activity between existing campaign groups currently active on these issues.
US Supreme Court rules against unions
An article reporting on a legal attack on the right to strike in the USA, reposted from the Labor Notes website.
Free Our Unions fringe meeting at Unison NDC: 14 June, 6:30pm
Free Our Unions supporters in Unison are holding a fringe meeting at the union’s National Delegate Conference, to discuss building resistance to anti-strike laws. The meeting will take place at 6:30pm on Wednesday 14 June, at The Liverpool pub, 14 James Street, L2 7PQ.
PCS conference reaffirms strong stance against anti-strike laws
The Annual Delegate Conference of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) has reaffirmed its strong stance against anti-strike laws.Motions passed by the conference recommitted the union to campaigning not only against proposed new laws, but against all legislation restricting workers’ rights to organise and strike.The article below is reposted from the PCS website. We…
After 22 May
A discussion article by a Free Our Unions supporter.The 22 May demo against the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill symbolised the problem with the labour movement’s response to the Bill and to anti-union laws more broadly.It’s good that the TUC called a demonstration on the day the Commons voted on the House of Lords amendments…
Online meeting, 7pm, Thursday 8 June: where next in the fight against anti-strike laws?
Free Our Unions has called an open discussion and planning meeting for 7pm on Thursday 8 June. Speakers will include Labour MP Nadia Whittome, but the majority of time will be set aside for discussion.
TUC calls emergency protest at Parliament- 6pm, 22 May
The TUC has called an emergency protest in Parliament Square at 6pm on Monday 22 May, when the Minimum Service Levels Bill is due for its next, and possibly final, Parliamentary reading and debate.Get down with your union banners! Free Our Unions will be distributing our latest briefing, and we’re planning a discussion/organising meeting to…
New Free Our Unions briefing
We’ve produced a new campaign briefing for activists to help them push inside their unions for a national demonstration against anti-strike laws. The briefing includes a model motion for union branches, the recent policy passed by the Fire Brigades Union Executive Committee calling for a national demonstration and defiance of the laws, and a discussion…
House of Lords amends anti-strike bill – but no room for complacency!
The House of Lords has approved amendments to the Tories’ Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill which would blunt some if its worst effects.
Court rules against nurses’ strike
The final day (2 May) of a planned strike by nurses’ union the RCN has been cancelled, after the government took the union to court to block the strike.
Emergency protest at Parliament, date TBC
Rail union RMT has announced to members in a circular that the TUC plans to call an emergency protest in Westminster on the evening of the next parliamentary reading of the Minimum Services Levels Bill.
Government threatens nurses’ strike: demonstrate at Royal Courts of Justice, 9:30am, 27 April
The Royal College of Nursing has called a protest outside the Royal Courts of Justice for 9:30am on Thursday 27 April.
We Make Tomorrow conference, 20 May
Free Our Unions has worked extensively to draw links between the fight against anti-strike laws and the fight for climate justice. We have collaborated with networks in the climate movement such as Earth Strike UK, via the “Empower the Unions” initiative.We’re therefore pleased to promote the We Make Tomorrow conference, organised by the Trade Union…
Anti-strike law: what “defiance” means
Fire Brigades Union leader Matt Wrack has called for a “mass movement of non-compliance” against the Minimum Service Legislation.
Firefighters’ union calls for national demonstration and emergency TUC Congress to fight anti-strike bill: what next?
The call from the national Executive Council of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) for new and escalated mobilisation to stop the government’s Minimum Service Levels (MSL) anti-strike bill is extremely welcome.
Debating anti-union laws at union conferences
The issue of anti-union and anti-strike laws, and how the labour movement should respond, will be debated at most union AGMs this spring and summer.
Free Our Unions 