Tuesday 11 May 2021

Disabled people organise to assert their rights

 

https://markwritecouk.files.wordpress.com/2021/05/tim-mcsharry.mp3

 

Disabled people and benefits, access to services, the Equality Act and hate crime are all examined by Tim McSharry of the Access Committee for Leeds, an unfunded long-standing disabled led volunteer organisation.

Standing up for equal rights podcast at Unite the Union

 

 

 

https://open.spotify.com/episode/79qBbyJGFNeXUa2GhrIm8q

 

In 1971 and inspired by the 1970 Equal Pay Act, Allyson Daykin and her young workmates got organised at KP Foods and later won better terms and conditions. Victory initially though did not just mean challenging management practices!



In 1971, aware that the 1970 Equal Pay Act had been enacted after the 1968 successful Ford sewing machinists strike at Dagenham, Rotherham’s Allyson Daykin and her badly exploited, mainly female, juvenile workmates at KP Foods sought to improve their wages and conditions.



They quickly came up against resistance from the male dominated TGWU workplace branch and thus set out to organise themselves. In doing so Allyson was pushed forward and elected by her workmates to the role of shop steward, a position she fulfilled for 37 years.



This 10-minute interview starts with Allyson describing how her working-class upbringing stood her in good stead when she began work at 15.

Wednesday 5 May 2021

Video coverage of We Remember March and Public Meeting with Gareth Pierce in Hackney in 1995

 Just gone online is coverage of the We Remember (those killed by the police) March and Public Talk (by Gareth Pierce. good speaker) from 1995 in Hackney. https://markwritecouk.files.wordpress.com/2021/05/trevor-monverville-memorial-lecture_8385.mp4