A rally to mark ‘the longest strike in history’ will be held in Burston, near Diss in Norfolk, on Sunday 1 September.
The Burston school strike started in April 1914 when teachers Kitty and Tom Higdon were sacked from Burston Village School for their socialist and trade union views. The pupils walked out for the next 25 years the Higdons and villagers ran the Burston Strike School for local children.
The rally will commemorate nearly 100 years since the strike started and recognise the continuing struggle for economic and social justice in rural areas, celebrating the people who continue to fight for trade union rights, working class education, and democracy in the countryside.
Speakers include TUC president Lesley Mercer, PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka, Steve Turner, policy director of Unite, and Richard Howitt, Labour MEP for the East of England. Entertainment comes from Leon Rosselson, Red Flags and the RMT brass band.
More information from Penny Fisher, senior regional administrator at Unite: penny.fisher@unitetheunion.org; 01603 624052.
