The IER and CTUF at Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival

The Tolpuddle Martyrs, a group of agricultural labourers, were charged with taking an ‘illegal oath’ 192 years ago. Their real crime in the eyes of the establishment was to have formed a trade union to protest about their meagre pay of six shillings a week – the equivalent of 30p (or roughly £50 when adjusted for inflation to today’s money) and the third wage cut in as many years.Their agreement was a promise of solidarity to each other in their struggle against landowners extracting every last drop of profit they could from the workers’ labour.

The Tolpuddle Martyrs’ arrest and deportation to Australia in 1834 was an early emblem of how the powerful would treat the free organisation of workers for centuries to come. Freedom of association and of assembly, the right to protest, the right to strike, and freedom of speech have been a constant battle since.

In prison, one of the labourers George Loveless wrote: “We raise the watchword, liberty. We will, we will, we will be free!” This rallying call underlined the Martyrs’ determination and has since served to inspire generations of people to fight against injustice and oppression.

Transportation to Australia was brutal case of victimisation. After the sentence was pronounced, the working class rose up in support of the Martyrs. A massive demonstration marched through London and an 800,000-strong petition was delivered to Parliament protesting about their sentence.

This weekend, thousands will gather to honour those Tolpuddle Martyrs at the Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival: they celebrate the values that the martyrs represented; solidarity, comradeship and breaking the chains of the Establishment, regardless of personal cost.

On Saturday at 2pm, the IER and the Campaign for Trade Union Freedom (CTUF) will be hosting a special panel at the festival, this year entitled ‘Forward to Employment Rights #2 Bill: Restoring Trade Union Rights. Speakers will include: Eddie Dempsey (RMT), John McDonnell MP, Fran Heathcote (PCS), Prof Keith Ewing (CTUF and IER), Cristiana Ioanitescu (ADCU) and Sarah Woolley (BFAWU). We hope to see many of you there!