Workers are ready to fight the government’s attack on their rights, reports Reuben Bard-Rosenberg

Activists and trade unionists rallied in Parliament Square yesterday against the Johnson government’s proposals to ban transport strikes. 

Following the election, the government has promised Orwellian sounding laws to “guarantee a right to get to work”. As speakers pointed out what this actually means is taking away the rights of workers to withdraw their labour.

Speakers from the RMT made clear that they are absolutely ready to fight this, but told us that it would take more than them alone. As we have seen in France, we would need to stop things moving right across the country.

Candy Udwin from the PCS pledged her union’s support and said that they would be looking at balloting for strike action in the new year.

There was a very good showing from left wing Labour MPs, quite symbolically rallying with us outside parliament rather getting on with business inside the commons.

Dianne Abbott told us “they call it a struggle for a reason” and that Boris Johnson was coming for our diverse communities, for workers, for anyone dependent on benefits, and we  would need to take the struggle out into the streets.

The gathering wasn’t huge. But represented within it were all of the forces necessary to protect workers’ right under Johnson my making Britain ungovernable: that is to say, rank and file train drivers, to militant trade union leaders across the different sectors, to left wing labour MPs, to socialist activists.

May 2020 be the year that we all join forces and stop the wheels from turning.