‘Protect the Right to Strike’ rally takes place in Peterborough as unions come together to oppose anti-strike laws

A rally calling for the government to protect workers’ right to strike took place in Peterborough on Wednesday (February 1).

Organised by the Peterborough Trades Union Council (PTUC), the rally at Cathedral Square brought together members of different unions to oppose proposed new laws set out by the government to limit the disruption of strikes on the public.

The bill, which was backed by MPs on January 31, will mean that the government will be able to set minimum levels of service which must be met during strikes to ensure the safety of the public and their access to public services.

However, the PTUC’s ‘National Day of Action’, which saw unions come together at rallies across the country, say the right to strike is a “fundamental part of workers’ rights”.

“Without the right to strike workers have no rights in the workplace”, Hazel Perry, president of the PTUC, said at the rally in Cathedral Square on Wednesday afternoon.

"We’re protesting against the government’s proposed new legislation.

"The right to strike is a fundamental part of workers’ rights. To withdraw our labour is the only way we can protest about things when we have exhausted all other opportunities and options.”

The rally took place on the same day that school teachers belonging to the National Education Union (NEU) went on strike over pay and conditions.

There were speakers at The Guildhall from the NEU, Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), Communication Workers Union (CWU), among others.

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