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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.


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…

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…

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…