The National Shop Stewards Network rally last Sunday September 9th before the start of TUC Congress was a tremendous event with over 200 trade union activists attending alongside congress delegates. TUC was held in Manchester to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the first congress in 1868 and the NSSN rally took place in the venue of that first conference, the Mechanics Institute.
Leaders from fighting unions spoke alongside rank & file union reps and activists, including those who have been taking action. The clear message from speakers was that we need to fight for a general election to get rid of the Tories, mired in divisions over Brexit. We need to replace it with a government led by Jeremy Corbyn on the pro-worker and anti-austerity policies that were in his manifesto in last year’s general election. This is the best way to fight for a Brexit in the interests of workers and their families.
The rally was opened by NSSN National Secretary Linda Taaffe and was followed by RMT General Secretary Mick Cash, BFAWU General Secretary Ronnie Draper, Unite General Secretary and Assistant General Secretary Len McCluskey and Howard Beckett, USDAW President Amy Murphy (personal capacity), PCS President Janice Godrich, Terry Pullinger CWU Deputy General Secretary Postal and Rob Williams NSSN National Chair. We also received a message of support from POA Deputy General Secretary Joe Simpson who was tied up in congress preparations.