Are you a Trade Union member? Then you’ll know that, despite the impression given by Cheltenham’s genteel Regency façade, we have a long and proud Trade Union heritage here in the town. In 1894 the Cheltenham and District Trades and Labour Council held its inaugural meeting at the Rose and Crown pub, and in 1918 they formed Cheltenham Labour Party.
In 1984 Cheltenham was thrust into the national spotlight when Margaret Thatcher announced that workers at GCHQ would have to renounce their union membership. Fourteen trade unionists refused to do so and were sacked. Led by Mike Grindley, a Mandarin Linguist, and supported by Cheltenham and District Trades Union Council and the Labour Party, there started an unrelenting national campaign for their reinstatement. Every January the national TUC organised a march and rally through the town.
During the 13 year campaign, Grindley covered over 150,000 miles, until the ban was finally lifted as one of the first acts of Tony Blair’s Labour government in 1997.
In an echo of that dispute, in 2023 the Conservatives passed legislation restricting the right to strike for over 5 million workers, requiring minimum service levels in areas such as transport, the NHS and education. This was in addition to previous legislation brought in during 2016 that placed restrictions on unions’ ability to organise in the workplace.
In January this year the TUC organised another march through the town, coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the GCHQ Trade Union Ban, to protest – peacefully – against these new laws. This march culminated in a rally in Pittville Park, where national trade union leaders called for improved workers’ rights and for a future Labour Government to repeal these Acts.
The Labour manifesto for the General Election in July stated that Britain’s employment laws are outdated and not fit for the modern economy, and that Tory legislation had led to a worsening in industrial relations. We said we would “create a partnership between business and trade unions”. And the recent King’s Speech announced that legislation will be updated, removing certain restrictions on trade union activity and introducing new rights for trade unionists.
So we welcome the news that not only the Minimum Service Levels legislation that led to the recent demonstration, but also The Trade Union Act 2016, will be repealed allowing unions to have better access to workplaces for recruitment and organising purposes. And we are proud of the part that Cheltenham has played in these events.
Simon Smith
President of Cheltenham & District Trade Union Council and Cheltenham Labour Party Trade Union Liaison Officer