Published 27th July 2019. By Riccardo la Torre (FBU) and Becky Crocker (RMT) The 26 July edition of the Morning Star (newspaper of the Communist Party of Britain) contained a full-page article attacking the Free Our Unions campaign, by Unite activist Andy Green.
Author Archives: freeourunions
“We need to change the balance of forces in this country” – Kevin Courtney on repealing the anti-union laws
The first conference of the merged National Education Union in 2019 passed policy on repealing all anti-union laws. Free Our Unions supporters held a fringe meeting at which joint-NEU General Secretary Kevin Courtney spoke. This is a slightly abridged version of his speech.
The fight against climate catastrophe needs free trade unions
This article, by Daniel Randall, was originally published by Workers’ Liberty on 5th July 2019. Find it here. The call for a general strike against climate change, now gaining traction across much of the climate movement and taken up by prominent figures such as Greta Thurnberg, has a meaningful latent power. School climate strikers are callingContinue reading “The fight against climate catastrophe needs free trade unions”
How the Free Our Unions campaign has developed
Published 30th June 2019 In June the RMT became the third national union to back the Free Our Unions campaign, after the FBU and IWGB. Free Our Unions is a campaign The Clarion has been central to developing. This article explains what it is, how it has developed and what it has done so far.
Fight to free our unions
This article, by Riccardo La Torre and Sacha Ismail, was orginally published on the FBU website on 19th June 2019. Find it here. Anti-union laws, severely restricting the right to organise and take industrial action, are a barrier to workers defending their interests and building up the labour movement’s strength. All of them – fromContinue reading “Fight to free our unions”
UNISON national conference 2019: ‘Free Our Unions’ motion
Published June 2019. The following motion was passed at the national conference of public sector union Unison in June 2019, after being submitted by the Free Our Union campaign‘s founder-branch, Lambeth Unison. A similar motion was also submitted by Newcastle City Unison.
GMB Congress 2019: Free Our Unions!
Published 10th June 2019 The following motion was passed at GMB Congress 2019 by GMB London Central General, one of the first branches to sign the Free Our Unions statement when it was launched in early 2018.
Disabled workers and the anti-union laws
Published 3rd June 2019. At the recent TUC Disabled Workers’ Conference, civil service union PCS submitted a motion about electronic balloting for industrial disputes, with the RMT adding text, calling for campaigning to repeal all anti-trade union laws. Janine Booth, who was a member of the RMT delegation, explains why this is crucial for theContinue reading “Disabled workers and the anti-union laws”
Firefighters call for a Socialist Green New Deal
By Riccardo la Torre, Eastern Region FBU Secretary. Published 18th May 2019. The 2019 Fire Brigades Union conference has voted for a strong emergency motion of solidarity with the recent movements in response to the climate crisis and for a radical ‘Socialist Green New Deal’, in Britain and internationally.
PCS: Free Our Unions!
Originally published 27th April 2019 The following motion was submitted to the annual conference of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) – 21-23 May, Brighton. It wasn’t heard, but was later passed by the union’s National Executive Committee.
Free Our Unions 