BEN CHACKO reports on fears at TUC Congress that the provisions in the legislation are liable to be watered down even further

MODERN day trade unions have much to learn from the struggles of workers in the 1800s with the Trade Union Act now being law.
Before 1824/25 the Combinations Acts had outlawed combining or organising to gain better working conditions.
In 1832 — the year of the Reform Act which extended the vote in England but did not grant universal suffrage — six men from Tolpuddle in Dorset founded the “friendly society of the agricultural labourers” to protest at the lowering of agricultural wages.

Our members face serious violence, crumbling workplaces and exposure to dangerous drugs — it is outrageous we still cannot legally use our industrial muscle to fight back and defend ourselves, writes STEVE GILLAN

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

