Calum Baird played the final set at the 2020 rally. Here he’s introduced by Susan Morrison who also rounds off the event.
Quan Nguyen at May day 2020
Quan Nguyen is active in Extinction Rebellion and Climate Camp Scotland. In his contribution to the Edinburgh and Lothians May Day rally he stressed the importance of the climate movement and the trade union and workers movement working together to combat the climate crisis.
Kate Rutter at May Day 2020
Kate is an actor and socialist. Many of you will recognise her from films like Ken Loach’s ‘I Daniel Blake’ and Mike Leigh’s ‘Peterloo’. Here’s her speech from the 2020 rally.
Penny Stone at May Day 2020
Here’s the video of Penny’s set at the 2020 May Day rally.
Mary Senior at the Rally 2020
The second speaker at the Edinburgh and Lothians May Day Rally was Mary Senior. Mary is a full time official for the UCU union and vice president of the STUC. Mary is introduced by Susan Morrison.
Gary Clark (CWU) at May Day 2020
Unfortunately Gary couldn’t speak live at the rally because he was called to an emergency union meeting. Here’s his prerecorded talk:
Here’s a written statement that Gary has published outlining the battle over jobs and conditions facing our posties.
As you are aware your postal workers have been continuing working through this pandemic, they have tried to provide you with the best service they can whilst facing high levels of sick, lack of protective equipment and social distancing and parcel levels on par with Christmas but without the extra resourcing to cope. Your postal workers are very appreciative of the support they’ve received from you all, with the posters, the thumbs up, the thank you’s and the gifts and will always do their best to provide you with a great service, but now they need your help.
Royal Mail, a day before ‘National Postal Workers Day’ announced that they will be stopping letter delivery on Saturdays. They said that it was what the postal workers asked for and that it was being done to help them. This is simply not true.
What Royal Mail have announced is what they’ve wanted all along, it was originally part of their 5 year strategy plan and it was part of the reasons we balloted for industrial action this year. Royal Mail have said it’s only a temporary removal but we believe this is not the case, once it’s removed it will be very hard if not impossible to get back and will result in 20,000 job losses, performance management and the loss of duty structures that offices have fought hard to keep.
The CWU have announced their strategy:
-There will be no engagement from representatives or members with the business
– They will utilise all legal options to make a challenge against the actions of the company and the reduction of the Universal Service Obligation
– Members will not carry out duty changes as management instruct and will continue to work their regular duty
– The union will draw up the relevant notices to send to Royal Mail that will result in calling members to take industrial action as per the active ballot.
To be clear, postal workers DO NOT want to take industrial action but when a company disrespects their employees, put their jobs at risk, won’t provide a safe environment for them to work in, focuses on profit alone and refuses to work with a legally recognised union they have no choice. Unfortunately the only thing left is to speak with actions and not words.
Please support your postal workers and the great British service that you’ve all come to know and love
Asad Rehman speaking at May Day 2020
Asad Rehman the Director of War on Want was the first speaker at today’s Edinburgh #MayDay2020 rally for Climate Justice
Solidarity and thanks
Thanks to all of the organisations that have provided financial support to this years May Day events.
E.I.S. Midlothian
E.I.S. Edinburgh
UNITE Edinburgh not for profit
UNITE Edinburgh retired members
UNISON Lothian Health
UNISON West Lothian
UNISON Midlothian
Edinburgh Trade Union Council
R.M.T. Glasgow Shipping
R.M.T. Edinburgh and Portobello
Fire Brigade Union
N.U.J. Edinburgh and District
Thanks too to all the organisations that have sent messages of solidarity and helped to advertise the rally.
Midlothian Trades Union Council
May Day Rally 2020
THE THEME OF THIS YEAR’S EVENTS IS CLIMATE JUSTICE
We are going ahead with the Edinburgh and Lothians May Day Festival but we have moved the events online.
FRIDAY 1ST MAY: EDINBURGH AND LOTHIANS MAY DAY RALLY, 1PM – 2.30PM
Please note the change of date – the event is now on May 1st.
The speakers are: Asad Rehman (War on Want), Quan Nguyen (Climate Camp), Mary Senior (UCU and STUC) and Kate Rutter (actor/socialist). The compere will be Susan Morrison and there will be music from Penny Stone and Calum Baird.
There are two ways you can join the rally.
Go to Edinburgh and Lothians May Day Face Book Page – we will be live streaming to the page from just before 1pm.
Join the rally via Zoom – see details below. Be sure to start logging in a few minutes before 1pm to avoid missing any of the event.
If you haven’t used Zoom before – here’s a a link to a short guide to how to link up. https://scote3.files.wordpress.com/2020/03/how-to-join-a-zoom-meeting-1.pdf
Topic Edinburgh and Lothians May Day Rally
Time: May 1, 2020 01:00 PM London
Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/720340993
Meeting ID: 720 340 993
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The Scottish general strike of 1820
Two hundred years ago the west central belt of Scotland was the epicentre of a remarkable social and economic transformation. In a period of just seven decades new capitalist industry had developed at an unprecedented rate. The new workshops and factories drew workers off the land from the Highlands, rural Lowlands and Ireland. In 1780 there were just two cotton spinning mills in Scotland – by 1834 there were 134. The number of handloom weavers rose from 25,000 in 1780 to 78,000 in 1820. But conditions for this newly formed working class were grim. Towns and cities grew rapidly; for example, the population of Glasgow expanded by 45.9% in just ten years from 1811 to 1821. Living conditions were poor, wage rates were falling, and hunger and disease meant that mortality rates were high.
State repression of worker class organisation was harsh. In August 1819 when workers gathered at Peterloo in Manchester to demand parliamentary representation 18 were killed and several hundred injured by sabre wielding troops and local militia. However, just over eight months later on 1st April flyers went up in Glasgow and surrounding towns calling for workers to strike. The flyers were signed ‘By order of the committee of organisation for forming a provisional government’ and the Address demanded the vote for all adult males and annual parliaments. The tone was uncompromising:
In this present state of affairs we earnestly request of all to desist from their Labours, from and after this day, the First of April; and attend wholly to the recovery of their Rights and consider it as the duty of every man not to recommence until he is in possession of those rights which distinguishes the FREEMAN from the SLAVE; viz: That of giving consent to the laws by which he is governed.
The Address went on to call on soldiers to join with citizens in the fight against despotism.
There was a massive response. Neil Davidson notes that the Lord Provost of Glasgow wrote to the Home Office in London that:
Almost the whole population of working classes have obeyed the orders contained in that treasonable proclamation by striking work.
The first general strike in history is often attributed to 1842 after the Westminster Parliament rejected the People’s Charter. However, if a regional general strike requires workers to down tools over an extended geographical area, across multiple industries and in support of unified demands, then April 1820 in west central Scotland was the first general strike in the history of capitalism!
The strike ended on 9th April, by which time 60,000 workers on the Clyde had struck. Some walked off the job immediately. In Glasgow mill workers were picketed out on the second day. On the same day 300 armed men shut down all the mills in Paisley. At the same time there were attempts at insurrection in a number of places across the region. There was an expectation that risings would take place simultaneously in North West England, but this didn’t happen.
A plaque now marks the site of the battle of Bonnymuir, where 40 insurrectionists were surprised by a troop of Cavalry and 18 captured and taken to Stirling.
When the strike ended employers attempted to victimise the workers who had been involved. There was strong and active resistance. Neil Davidson writes:
Barr and Co. in Greenhead, for example, attempted to reduce wages by 8% after the return to work, but the men staged a further stoppage of six or seven weeks – seven times the length of the original strike – until they were accepted back on their original wages.
For much of the last 200 years the general strike of 1820 has been hidden from history. The failed insurrections and the executions that followed are better known. However, it’s part of our history and part of the radical Scottish tradition that we can learn from and remember with pride.
Pete Cannell – March 30th 2020
For further reading on the events of 1820 try ‘The Scottish General Strike of 1820’ by Neil Davidson which is included in ‘new approaches to socialist history’ edited by Keith Flett and David Renton. I’ve drawn heavily on Neil’s chapter for this article. ‘The Scottish Insurrection of 1820’ by Peter Berresford Ellis and Seumas Mac A, Ghobhainn deals with the use of government agents suspected of calling for the rising prematurely in order to flush and persecute the leadership as well as the unjust trials that followed. For a hugely detailed account of the development of industrial capitalism in central Scotland try Andreas Malm’s Fossil Capital.
