• Women Chainmakers Festival – Cradley Heath

    In 1910 the Women Chainmakers of Cradley Heath fought a successful 10-week dispute to establish the right to a minimum wage for their labour. Each year the Women Chainmakers Festival recognises and celebrates the role of women within the trade union movement and aims to reclaim the often forgotten contribution of women to Britain’s industrial heritage. The family friendly festival […]

  • Durham Miners Gala

    Held on the second Saturday of July the Durham Miners Gala sees trade unionists from across the country descend on Durham city and the event has developed into the largest gathering of trade unionists in the country. Highlights include wave after wave of banners, each typically accompanied by a brass band, which are marched to the old Racecourse, where political speeches […]

  • Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival

    This annual festival where thousands of people come together to celebrate trade unionism and remember the role of the Tolpuddle Martyrs offers a full programme of traditional and contemporary music and other attractions. There has been an annual gathering to mark the story of the Tolpuddle Martyrs since 1930s. The event sees thousands of trade unionists from around the UK […]

  • Peterloo Massacre (1819)

    On 16 August 1819 60,000 people congregated in St Peter’s Field in Manchester, with demands for the right to vote, freedom from oppression and justice.  Despite its peaceful beginning, this was a day that would end with a bloody outcome. Why was it called Peterloo? From Waterloo to Manchester In 1789 the French Revolution shook the world and the ideas […]

  • International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition

    The slave trade is a part of our history that must be condemned and never forgotten. Therefore, Unite fully supports the call for a national day of remembrance. From 1562 when slavery began to 1865 when the transatlantic slave trade was abolished, between 10 and 28 million African men, women and children were enslaved, persecuted and their human rights denied. […]

  • International Day of the Disappeared

    More than a human rights violation against an individual Enforced disappearance has frequently been used as a strategy to spread terror within the society. The feeling of insecurity generated by this practice is not limited to the close relatives of the disappeared, but also affects their communities and society as a whole. Enforced disappearance has become a global problem and […]

  • Burston Strike School Rally (1914)

    On April 1st 1914 teachers Tom and Annie Higdon were dismissed from their posts in the rural village of Burston, Norfolk and with it began the ‘longest strike in history’. On that day the children marched around the village with cards hanging from their necks demanding that “We Want Our Teachers Back”. The banner at the head of the march […]