MEMBERS of South West England branch of the NUJ joined thousands of trade unionists from all over the country on a march through Cheltenham to protest against the Conservative government’s attempts to restrict the right to strike.
The event on Saturday January 27 also marked 40 years since a previous Tory administration banned workers at the national intelligence agency, GCHQ, from joining a trade union. Staff who had joined a union were told to leave it, or face the sack.
The ban was imposed in 1984 and was only lifted 13 years later when a Labour government came to power. Before 1984, staff at GCHQ had been encouraged to be members of unions – a freedom considered a human right in most democracies.
Trade unionists’ attention now is focused on the current government’s Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023, brought into law last July.
It seeks to enforce a “minimum level of service” in certain industries even when workers are taking strike action. The sectors affected include health, education and transport. Workers who defy the law can be sacked, and their unions fined heavily.
At present, journalism is one profession not affected by the law – but who is to say that could not change, argued SWE NUJ acting chair Paul Breeden.
“During Covid, the news media was judged by the Government to be an essential public service, and rightly so,” said Paul. “Who can be sure that a future government would not seek to drag journalists into the net and try to restrict their right to strike too?”
The Labour Party under Keir Starmer has pledged to repeal the Minimum Service Levels legislation, as well as introducing strengthened protections for unions within 100 days of taking office – including making it easier for unions to organise in workplaces where employees want to be represented.
The march, estimated to be about 5,000 strong, won coverage in national media, who drew attention to the parallels with 1984.
