Robinson successfully defended his school from closure, fought for the unification of the teaching unions, mentored future trade union leaders and transformed teaching at the Marx Memorial Library, writes JOHN FOSTER
The importance of trades councils
Trades union councils promote working-class solidarity in local communities. STEVE GILLAN explains why all trade unions should be affiliating at local level and playing an active part promoting at national and regional levels throughout Britain and Northern Ireland
POA general secretary Steve Gillan chairs the trades union council joint consultative committee
A judge in a German court ruled that the ban activity imposed on renowned Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah was unlawful, reports LEON WYSTRYCHOWSKI
At the very moment Britain faces poverty, housing and climate crises requiring radical solutions, the liberal press promotes ideologically narrow books while marginalising authors who offer the most accurate understanding of change, writes IAN SINCLAIR
From Gaza protest bans to proscribing Palestine Action, political elites are showing a crisis of confidence as they abandon Roy Jenkins’s apologetic approach for Suella Braverman’s aggressive ‘hate march’ rhetoric, writes PAUL DONOVAN
ANSELM ELDERGILL examines the legal case behind this weekend’s Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival and the lessons for today
Ben Chacko talks to RMT leader EDDIE DEMPSEY about how the key to fixing broken Britain lies in collective sectoral bargaining, restoring unions’ ability to take solidarity strike action and bringing about the much-vaunted ‘wave of insourcing’
The summer of 1950 saw Labour abandon further nationalisation while escalating Korean War spending from £2.3m to £4.7m, as the government meekly accepted capitalism’s licence and became Washington’s yes-man, writes JOHN ELLISON
TRADES councils are the local trade union movement. They can be called upon by any trade union branch to show strike or other dispute solidarity, which could be via a picket line, media publicity or a financial appeal.
National trade unions can promote their priority issues more effectively when local trades councils assist with publicity, leaflet distribution, recruitment and speakers at meetings.
When trades councils respond to strong feeling in working-class communities, they can report this to the Trades Union Congress (TUC) at regional and national levels.
More from this author
After one year of a Labour government attacking winter fuel allowance and disabled people, the trade union movement must step up regardless of who holds power, writes STEVE GILLAN
Tory austerity triggered a crisis in our jails and only a decisive break from the past can turn this around, explains STEVE GILLAN
Stripped of their industrial muscle and left at the mercy of ministers and management, prison officers have been pushed way beyond breaking point, warns STEVE GILLAN
We can take inspiration from our forebears and win the repeal of anti-worker legislation and bring about fair pay and decent public services for all, says STEVE GILLAN
