London against Austerity Conference - 4 July 2015 Islington Town Hall

No acceptance of austerity | March with Labour members

Dear <<First Name>>, LONDON AGAINST AUSTERITY CONFERENCE Councillors, communities and trade unionists together GLATUC - the Greater London Association of Trade Union Councils - have called a conference to bring together trade unionists, councillors and community activists to discuss developing joint campaigning against austerity and its impact on local services. Councillors from across London are encouraged to attend to widen discussion about how we collectively respond. Supported by Islington Labour Group, sessions on the day will include: strategies to oppose cuts to grants to the council or organisations  supporting campaigns for staff pay and conditions and maintaining services  maintaining and returning council services in-house  Speakers on the day will include: Islington Council leader Richard Watts Islington Housing Executive Member James Murray  Barnet UNISON Secretary John Burgess Labour NEC local government rep Alice Perry REGISTER FOR LONDON AGAINST AUSTERITY Time: 10am Date: Saturday 4th July Venue: Islington Town Hall Tube: Highbury & Islington (Victoria/Overground) and Angel (Northern) Registration page

I will be at UNISON National Labour Link Forum in Manchester on the 4th so unfortunately will miss this event. My West Ham Labour colleague, John Whitworth, is going and will be encouraging Newham Councillors and Party members to attend. Click on Link here 

A Celebration of the 1888 "Matchgirls" Strike

Next Saturday 18 October 2008 the GLATUC are holding an event at Congress House to mark the 120th anniversary of the 1888 Bryant & May “Matchgirls” Strike.

“In July 1888 1400 women and girls walked out on strike at the Bryant & May factory in Bow, East London. The demands of these female workers included the reinstatement of a fellow worker, higher wages, a proper dining room and the freedom to form a trade union...the strikers marched to the House of Parliament where they met MPs; they gained support for their grievances. Public pressure and the falling price of Bryant & May’s shares encouraged this bullying employer to meet the women’s demand in full....The strike gave a massive boost to trade unions organising in London and across the country” (pdf flyer).

I have posted on the strike briefly before - here and here. I work very close to the old factory where the strike took place and walk or drive past it most days (Fairfield Road). The factory itself was rebuilt in 1911 and is now converted into expensive private flats (a so-called gated community). This is a shame but it is still quite an inspiring historical monument to the birth of trade unionism and also the suffragette movement.