BURSTON RALLY STRIKES HOME

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: october 2012 :: RMTnews 20 R MT general secretary Bob Crow called for a mass mobilisation of working people, including a general strike, against Con Dem cuts at this year’s annual Burston strike school rally last month. Over 1,000 people, including many children, marched through the little Norfolk village of Burston to commemorate the longest strike in British history. Trade unionists and their families from all over the country marched along the rural roads of Burston, near Diss, to remember when teachers Tom and Kitty Higdon were unfairly sacked from the local school nearly one hundred years ago in April 1914. The brave young pupils walked out in support of their much-loved teachers. Inspired by their actions, the Higdons and the villagers set up an alternative known as The Strike School which ran until 1939 when Tom died. Today the school building is a museum as well as a national symbol for trade union solidarity. There are around 120 carved bricks on the building, naming the donors from around the world who helped make the school house possible. Many are from RMT’s predecessor, the National Union of Railwaymen which contributed 20 per cent of the cost of the school. TUC regional secretary Megan Dobney said that there had been a fantastic turnout for the annual event which takes place on the first Sunday every September. “The reason Tom and Kitty were sacked was because they stood up for farm labourers so they started the school for the children and they expanded the education on offer. “It is a reminder of the solidarity of the labour movement as assistance for the Higdons and their school flooded in from around the world,” she said. Bob Crow addressed the crowd, calling for militant action against Tory/Lib Dem cuts. “We are here today to celebrate what the Higdons achieved and the people who continue to fight for trade union rights, working class education, democracy in the countryside and international solidarity. “We need to get rid of this rotten ConDem government that doesn’t want working people to have access to education, pensions or healthcare. “We are fighting the same vested interests as the Higdons did a hundred years ago. “We are here to say there is an alternative to cuts and austerity and it’s called socialism. “Socialism may have failed in the Soviet Union but capitalism has failed humanity everywhere,” he said to loud applause. BURSTON RALLY STRIKES HOME A video of the Burston Rally can be viewed at rmtv.org.uk