Dear Colleague,
Important dates for your diary:
Durham Miners Gala Saturday 10th July 2010
Tolpuddle Festival Friday 16th July to Sunday 18th July 2010
Key dates in the calendar of the trade union movement have been announced and as ever, I would like to encourage RMT members to attend to ensure the maximum Union presence where we can pay tribute to working class solidarity and our trade union forefathers at the Tolpuddle Festival and the Durham Miners Gala.
Please bring your banners flags and whistles!
Durham Miners Gala Saturday 10th July 2010
The past struggles of mineworkers and the NUM continue to inspire working people everywhere and tens of thousands of trade unionists will gather in Durham to pay tribute to their example. The RMT has a special bond with the Gala through the solidarity shown by the NUR and NUS during the landmark 1984 dispute. I will provide more details when they are available.
Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival Friday 16th July to Sunday 18th July 2010, Tolpuddle, Dorset
The Tolpuddle Festival commemorates an historic episode in the struggle for trade union rights in Britain and around the world. In 1834 six farm labourers from Tolpuddle were arrested on a charge of taking part in an illegal oath ceremony. The real offence was that they had dared to form a trade union to defend their livelihoods. For this they were sentenced to seven year's transportation to the penal colonies of Australia. The sentences provoked an immense outcry, leading to the first great trade union protest. The campaign won free pardons and the Martyrs returned to England. For further information on the Tolpuddle Festival, see www.tolpuddlemartyrs.org.uk
Yours sincerely,
Bob Crow
General Secretary
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