Join the Free Our Unions campaign and the Fire Brigades Union for a meeting and discussion marking the 150th anniversary of the 1871 Trade Union Act, to draw lessons from the 19th century struggle for our fight against anti-union laws and for free trade unions for today.
Speaker: Simon Hannah, Lambeth Unison branch secretary, author, and Free Our Unions activist
Chair: Riccardo La Torre, National Officer, Fire Brigades Unions
Tuesday 20 July, 7pm
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June 2021 is the 150th anniversary of the 1871 Trade Union Act, which fully legalised unions in the UK. It was followed in 1875 by an act which legalised picketing. The result is that in the late 19th century trade unions and workers’ struggles were far less legally restricted than they are today.
In 1799 unions were banned by the Combination Acts. They were partially legalised in 1824, but this was quickly followed by harsh restrictions on trade union action – restrictions remarkably similar in content to what exists now.
The 1871 and 1875 victories were the result of half a century of militant working-class struggle. They were also the result of the radical political movements which erupted in the late 1860s and 1870s.
What lessons can we learn from these events for the fight to free our unions from anti-union laws and state and employer interference today?
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Facebook event here.
Free Our Unions 