The Tolpuddle Martyrs were six agricultural labourers from the village of Tolpuddle in Dorset, England, who were arrested and tried in 1834 for swearing a secret oath as members of a friendly society. Led by George Loveless, the group had formed the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers during a labour dispute over wage cuts that reduced their income to near-starvation levels. Such unions were technically legal, but the British government, wary of organised labour, invoked an obscure 1797 law against "unlawful oaths" to bring charges. In R v Loveless and Others the men were convicted and sentenced to penal transportation in Australia. They were pardoned in 1836 after mass protests by sympathisers and support from Lord John Russell, and returned to England between 1837 and 1839. Most of the men later emigrated to Canada.
Tolpuddle is a village in the civil parish of Burleston and Tolpuddle, in Dorset, England, on the River Piddle from which it takes its name, 8 miles (13 km) east of Dorchester, the county town, and 12 miles (19 km) west of Poole. The estimated population of the parish in 2013 was 420.
The European Social Forum (ESF) was a recurring conference held by members of the alter-globalization movement. In the first few years after it started in 2002 the conference was held every year, but later it became biannual due to difficulties with finding host countries. The conference was last held in 2010. It aims to allow social movements, trade unions, NGOs, refugees, peace and anti-imperial groups, anti-racist movements, environmental movements, networks of the excluded and community campaigns from Europe and the world to come together and discuss themes linked to major European and global issues, in order to coordinate campaigns, share ideas and refine organizing strategies. It emerged from the World Social Forum and follows its Charter of Principles.
Picketing is a form of protest in which people congregate outside a place of work or location where an event is taking place. Often, this is done in an attempt to dissuade others from going in, but it can also be done to draw public attention to a cause. Picketers normally endeavor to be non-violent. It can have a number of aims but is generally to put pressure on the party targeted to meet particular demands or cease operations. This pressure is achieved by harming the business through loss of customers and negative publicity, or by discouraging or preventing workers or customers from entering the site and thereby preventing the business from operating normally.
The 1987 IUSY Festival was organised by the International Union of Socialist Youth in Valencia, Spain in July of that year.
The Durham Miners' Gala is a large annual gathering and labour festival held on the second Saturday in July in the city of Durham, England. It is associated with the coal mining heritage of the Durham Coalfield, which stretched throughout the traditional County of Durham. It is also locally called "The Big Meeting" or "Durham Big Meeting". In the context of the Durham Miners' Gala, "gala" is usually pronounced rather than the more common pronunciation.
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) is the world's largest trade union federation.
The National Union of Agricultural and Allied Workers (NUAAW) was a trades union representing farmworkers in the United Kingdom. The Union was founded in 1906 by trade union activist George Edwards. It was dissolved in 1982 when it merged into the Agricultural Section of the Transport and General Workers' Union.
Gibraltar National Day, celebrated annually on 10 September, is the official national day of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The day commemorates Gibraltar's first sovereignty referendum of 1967, in which Gibraltarian voters were asked whether they wished to either pass under Spanish sovereignty, or remain under British sovereignty, with institutions of self-government.
Comrades is a 1986 British historical drama film directed by Bill Douglas and starring an ensemble cast including Robin Soans, Phil Davis, Keith Allen, Robert Stephens, Vanessa Redgrave and James Fox. Through the pictures of a travelling lanternist, it depicts the story of the Tolpuddle Martyrs, who were arrested and transported to Australia in 1834 for trying to improve their conditions by forming an early form of trade union. It was Bill Douglas's last film.
Andrew Conley was a British trade unionist.
The anti-austerity movement in the United Kingdom saw major demonstrations throughout the 2010s in response to Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government's austerity measures which saw significant reductions in local council budgets, increasing of university tuition fees and reduction of public spending on welfare, education, health and policing, among others. Anti-austerity protests became a prominent part of popular demonstrations across the 2010s, particularly the first half of the decade.
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of about 5.5 million members. Paul Nowak is the TUC's current General Secretary, serving from January 2023.
R v Lovelass and Others (1834) 172 ER 1380 is a formative case in the history of UK labour law. It saw the Tolpuddle Martyrs, farm workers who wished to form a union to prevent wage cuts, convicted and deported to Australia. It triggered protests, which led to the workers' eventual release and return to Britain.
A labour festival is a festival related to the labour movement usually occurring annually. Labour festivals are some of the biggest political gatherings in Europe. Often they are outdoors in the summer and they incorporate music, parades, film, historical commemoration and food and drink. One of the well-known ones is Durham Miners' Gala attended by some 100,000 attendees. Some are run by communist or socialist parties such as Fête de l'Humanité, Fête de Lutte Ouvrière, Avante! Festival, Odigitis festival and Festa Democratica. Some were formerly so, such as Edinburgh Labour People's Festival. Some commemorate trade unionism or history such as Burston Strike School and Tolpuddle Martyrs festival. Glastonbury Festival has a The Left Field and has been addressed by Labour leaders.
International Workers' Day, also known as Labour Day in some countries and often referred to as May Day, is a celebration of labourers and the working classes that is promoted by the international labour movement and occurs every year on 1 May, or the first Monday in May.
The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considered an instance of class conflict.
There are several cottages associated with the Tolpuddle Martyrs. Most are in Tolpuddle in Dorset while one is in Essex.
The Tolpuddle Martyrs' Tree is a sycamore tree in the village of Tolpuddle, Dorset. The tree is approximately 336 years old. It has become associated with the birth of the trade unionist movement.
Ruby Docie Quarrell Part was a British trade unionist and political activist.
