Mark Harding is an RMT rep who faces prison for carrying out picket duties during February’s strikes. He has been charged under UK’s restrictive anti trade union legislation; he appeared in court on 23 May, and will find out his verdict on 2 June.
We picket to make strike action effective; we have the right to ask people to respect our picket lines and build support for our action. This is picketing; it is not "intimidation" or "harassment". If the person pursuing this claim can convince a court that the act of picketing is "intimidation", then our right to picket is threatened.
It’s good that RMT and other trade union leaders and MPs have circulated a statement calling for ‘Justice for Mark Harding’. We need to keep defending Mark and step up our action to repeal the anti-trade union laws under which Mark is being charged. For more on the campaign to defend Mark, click here.
Also on 23 May, victimised RMT rep Petrit Mehaj won his Employment (Appeals) Tribunal, meaning his legal challenge now reverts to a previous stage, allowing him and the union's legal representatives another opportunity to show how his employer, Sodexo, victimised him for his trade union activity. For more on Petrit's case, click here.
