“On February 24th, 1834, six farm labourers from the Dorset village of Tolpuddle were arrested on a charge of taking part in an 'illegal oath' ceremony. In the eyes of their masters, however, the real offence was that they had dared to form a trade union to defend their livelihood. For this they were sentenced to seven years' transportation to the penal colonies of Australia. The sentences provoked an immense outcry, leading to the first great mass trade union protest. The campaign won free pardons and the Martyrs' return to England.

A historic episode in the struggle for trade unionists' rights in Great Britain.

We shall never forget what we owe them.” www.tuc.org.uk

This weekend I was invited to speak at the Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival in Dorset, to talk about the student movement and Trade Unionism, my speech is below. It was an amazing event, with people from all over the country coming down to Tolpuddle to celebrate Trade Unionism and solidarity. Stephen Brown and Richard Angell came too to run an NUS stall, we also saw our fellow NEC member Sophie Buckland there who helped us run the stall too! I took part in laying the wreath by the tree and the grave with Shami Chakrabati, Tony Benn, Peter Hain and Brendan Barber to name a few.

My speech went really well and we had great responses from the crowd about the project.

Photos and a report on officeronline will follow – but I had such a good time I wanted to tell you about it straight away!

Tolpuddle Speech

To say that I am totally overawed to be invited here to speak to you today would be an understatement – Where better to speak to the labour movement about NUS’ new Trade Union partnership project than here, at the birthplace of Trade Unionism.

It is also a privilege to be stood here representing the largest democratic student organisation in the world, a movement that encompasses over 5 million members in further and higher education – a diverse movement made up of individuals that are not just your stereotypical 18-21 year old students, but students who are second chance learners, parents, carers and ultimately workers too.

This is going to be a historic year for NUS and Trade Unions– a year when for the first time we’re formally engaging with the TU movement – not just when we need a favour, not just when yet again students’ right to a free, accessible education is under threat- but a serious, structured, long term commitment to promote collectivist values, social solidarity and trade union membership among young people.

Our commitment is also born out of practicality, out of a very real understanding that the financial position students now find themselves in means that they are almost inevitably workers too, and they need the protection and solidarity of trade unions like never before.

We all know that education is the key to social mobility, to breaking down years of class inequality- but with student debt at an all time high, so many talented individuals are deterred from entering further and higher education. And whilst the costs stack up and up, the likelihood of Education remaining a preserve of the middle and upper classes increases too.

We know you have stood in solidarity with us in our fight for a free fair and funded education system and we are continually grateful for your support of Coalition 2010 – our campaign to prevent the lifting of the 3 thousand pound cap on top-up fees. In October thousands of students will take to the streets of London to protest about the continuing marketisation of our education system and the damage to access to education that this causes – and we’re asking you to join us- because education is just the latest in the long line of public services being marketised and privatised- and that process, ripping apart the social fabric of this country, must and will be stopped.

But whilst our activists and officers want to fight the political fight, some of my members have more pressing concerns.

The average student is now graduating with £13,500 worth of debt, a level set to rise to at least £20,000 in the next few years, and just to get through their studies the majority of students undertake paid employment alongside their course to cover basic living costs.

The sectors that they work in are the usual- low pay, poor working conditions, few guaranteed rights. This has a massive impact on their study and general education experience.

Some weeks I have students coming to me telling me that they were threatened with the sack if they chose attending their lecture over taking up that extra shift

I get students telling me that they get sexually harassed in the workplace but are too scared of losing their job to complain

And I’m sick and tired of getting reports of students routinely getting paid less than minimum wage

And that’s why I know NUS has to engage with the trade union movement more than ever before- to build and fight for the world we want for the future, but also to protect students in the present.

Let’s be honest. Trade union membership amongst young people is just too low. The TUC estimates that 10% of 18 to 25 year olds are in trade unions. But in the trades that the majority of working students can be found in – catering, hotels, bars, retail and distribution – we believe it is probably nearer 2%. The reality is that the Trade Union movement must engage with students if it wants to build a sustainable future. Our project aims to work with unions to facilitate access to our 5.3 million student membership base to recruit and develop the members and activists of tomorrow.

And to do this we are learning from you, moving from a servicing national union, to an organising one – a union that is genuinely owned by its membership and engages with them to develop a movement of activists that can be mobilised when we inevitably come under attack again. In short, we aim to learn lessons from the development of New Unionism and organising cultures within unions so that we can build and empower the next generation of student, community, trade union and political activists. We have a role to play in the citizenship agenda and by working with the trade union movement we can help fulfil our duty to build active political citizens.

When I was growing up in education, I was always told that the future was mine to go and create- that that was what education was for.

But there is an overriding sense amongst my members that education is becoming a commodity- bought and sold like trainers and burgers, rather than the empowering experience it should be enabling them to strive for a better and fairer world.

And so my fight is your fight. For a real and lasting partnership between my union, and your unions. For thousands of new student activists and trade union members- injecting our society with our shared values of democracy, collectivism, equality, solidarity and social justice. For a peaceful, fair and just world.

Thank you.

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