Free Our Unions supporters will take part in picket lines, strike rallies, and other actions and protests on 1 February, as part of the mass strike and TUC day of action against threatened new anti-strike laws. They’ll be promoting the campaign’s next open organising meeting, on Tuesday 7 February at 7pm, which will discuss the next steps. A particular focus will be coordinating activity within our unions to push for a national trade union demonstration against the laws.
Meetings where plans for practical activity can be democratically discussed and developed are a vital part of any campaign. Unfortunately, the Campaign for Trade Union Freedom’s 24 January meeting, billed as an “action planning meeting” as well as a rally, didn’t live up to this billing, featuring only half an hour of collective discussion. Much more time was given over to top-table speeches. Rallies have their place, but campaigns will wither if activists’ only role is set as listening to speeches by their leaders.
Free Our Unions also has plans for a meeting later in February exploring the history of solidarity strikes with NHS workers in 1982 and 1988, cosponsored by NHS Workers Say No, a grassroots, cross-union network of health workers.
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