Tamil Solidarity spoke at the National Shop Stewards Network (NSSN) rally before the start of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) Conference in Brighton.
This rally took place at a crucial time in the workers movement in Britain and was attended by more than 300 rank and file trade unionists and activists. There was a great line up of speakers from the leading trade unions: PCS President Janice Godrich, RMT General Secretary Mick Cash, BFAWU General Secretary Ronnie Draper and POA General Secretary Steve Gillan alongside those off junior doctors and workers from Greenwich council in Unite and RMT on Southern Rail who have been striking against cuts.
There were also speakers from Youth fight for jobs and two junior doctors, who explained to everyone that the National Health Services is in crisis and that we need to organise to demand that more investment is put into this vital service. The NHS has been won by the workers movement and now the trade unionists have to organise to preserve it.
Unfortunately, Labour Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell was unable to attend as planned because he was delayed by a traffic jam due to a road accident. But Ronnie Draper read out a statement from John that showed his and Jeremy Corbyn’s ties with the unions and their members and why #KeepCorbyn was a major theme of the rally.
Isai Priya from Tamil Solidarity received huge reception for her call that the Trade Unions are the natural allies of the Tamil Community. It is vital that the Tamil speaking community gets involved in the struggles taking place at the moment to improve working conditions and lives for everyone. Tamil Solidarity has also taken an initiative to start a campaign to Defend refugees rights and has been mobilising support for Jeremy Corbyn.
Please visit the NSSN website for the full video of the rally: http://shopstewards.net/2016/09/nssn-308-video-nssn-tuc-rally-says-call-demo-to-support-junior-doctors/
Also find below the video of Isai Priya speaking: (will be uploaded soon)
