One glaring omission from my earlier blog was a report on my weekend away deep in the Dorset countryside celebrating the birth of trade unionism.

Back in July I packed my new tent, sleeping bag and camping lamp and headed south to what was described to me as Glastonbury with less noise and more politics. Actually I did know from a bit of research that The Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival was an annual event organised by the TUC and featuring many trade unions, music, speakers and culminating in a banner parade into the village.

So with this in mind NUS ‘Team Tri-puddle’, Steve Coole (Development Worker, NUS South), Jonathan Day (National Learning & Development Advisor) and myself were given the mission of representing the organisation and highlighting some our campaign work to the wider trade union community. After much messing about with our tents and with some help from Plymouth Students' Union it was time to locate and set up our stall. Carrying on from the success we had at Glasto – the main theme for our weekend was the five challenges that NUS set for the new Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. In particular it was our campaigns for free student healthcare, concessionary public transport and equal minimum wage for all ages. The main aim was to get as many people as possible to complete one or all of the petition cards and to have their photos taken with our brightly coloured picture boards. We spoke with lots of trade union members, members of the local community, students, children and even Billy Bragg and Tony Benn all of whom agreed with what we were saying and were more than happy to sign up to our campaigns.

But we were there for more than all this frivolity – the Tolpuddle Martyrs were a group of farm labourers who were dissatisfied with their working conditions, the gradual lowering of wages and the abject poverty that was being felt by the villagers. So six of them, lead by George Loveless decided to do something about this by forming the union they believed would give the labours much needed bargaining power. Unfortunately the 1832 Reform Act outlawed unions of any kind and subsequently they were charged with swearing an illegal secret oath, a trumped up charge from an obscure law that was more suited to the navy than land workers. The main reason for this was because local gentry James Frampton, supported by the landowners and the government, believed that the rise in this kind of activity would lead to an increase in worker descent and a threat to the landowners’ power and wealth.

So in March 1834 George Loveless, James Loveless, James Brine, James Hammett, Thomas Standfield and John Standfield were found guilty of administering an unlawful oath and sentenced to seven years transportation to Australia. Due to massive public support, moves were made late in 1836 that began release proceedings. If the landowners believed that this trial would stop the increase in unionisation they were wrong – it instead lead to enhanced support for union activity and the plight of the martyrs culminating in a mass petition being presented to the Home Secretary with over 200,000 signatures. Due to all of this the martyrs finally began to return the UK late in 1837 and rest as they say is history...

It was a fun and interesting weekend that included lots of mud, wet tents, porta-loos and even the Puddle Town Carnival (better not to ask!). But for me, more than anything, it was also an inspiring experience that allowed me to embrace my activist side. The side of us all that often sees injustice in society and wants to enact the change that will make a difference. We sometimes take for granted the right we have to organise together, stand up for ourselves and for our members; but we must always remember the people who came before us and the struggles they encountered to afford us this privilege.

So whether it’ll be as a student unionist or trade unionist, I will be attending Tolpuddle for many years to come – I just hope for less rain and maybe even a camper van next time!

More than ever – in unity

Katie ‘a humbled NEC member’ Curtis

“From field, from wave, from plough, from anvil, and from loom; we come our country’s rights to save and speak a tyrant factions doom. We raise the watch-word liberty; we will, we will, we will be free!”

(George Loveless- Leader of the Tolpuddle Martyrs)

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