The Tolpuddle Diaries

This year, for the first time ever, the TUC organised a week-long summer camp leading up to the Tolpuddle Martyrs' Festival in Dorset. The Academy's delegates comprised 30 Young members from trade unions in Britain and Germany. (NB: of the British delegates, the GMB was the best represented union!) London & Southern Region members Richard Jones , Beqir Doku and Zoë Taylorson share a diary of their week:

Sunday 11th July
Having all been dreading setting up our tents for the week in torrential downpours, we were all pleasantly surprised to arrive on site with blue skies and sunshine. Having travelled all night by coach the German delegates were the first to arrive and set up camp on the legendary sloping Tolpuddle pitch. By the evening most delegates were delighted to discover that the caterers for the week, 'Henry's Beard', cooked delicious and organic hot food, and best of all were situated in the same tent as the Workers Beer Company, providing us with an all day bar and friendly barman! Sunday night found us coyly sat on 'English' and 'German' tables; discussing where we were from, our occupations and which unions we belonged to. The majority took advantage of having a bar on site and had trouble with guy ropes when eventually retiring to 'bed'!

Monday
Happily, we were provided with hot showers on site, which was a real relief to us all. The morning session began with icebreakers and then we moved on to a 'cultural exchange' of preconceptions and stereotypes. This proved amusing with revelations that the English "eat chips with every meal and follow the Americans in their politics" and that the Germans "are hairy, like techno and have no sense of humour". Ultimately we all agreed that there was little difference between us besides our first language, and this broke the ice. In the afternoon delegates could choose from several workshops, including 'Unions & Europe' led jointly by Juliane Bir from the ETUC and Isabel Owen, Director of the South West division of Britain in Europe. This workshop ignited extensive debate surrounding the inclusion and exclusion of nation states within the EU. This theme continued in the evening when Juliane conducted a talk and quiz on 'The Need for European Solidarity'. The quiz teams were split into three: a German group; an English group and a mixed group. The two national groups tied with their scores and the mixed group won with the most points. Juliane pointed out this proved her argument - if we all work together and share ideas we can achieve so much more!
After this an episode of Faulty Towers called 'The Germans Are Coming' was screened and got a lot of laughs.

Tuesday
All but two delegates opted for the day trip to London where they had a tour of Parliament and a Q&A session with MPs. Sure enough MPs were grilled regarding the job cuts within Civil Service and also about how effectively the government is communicating with and listening to the general public, specifically Young people across all sections of society.
The remaining few visited the unionised Tank Repair Factory at Bovington, which has 500 workers specialising in a wide range of skills. We had a tour of the factory and met some of the learning reps, who told us that they had a good level of communication with management and a working agreement implemented. In the afternoon we went for coastal walk around Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door, which was beautiful and we all wished that we had brought our swimming costumes!
In the evening we were all reunited on site for BBQ and village reception, which all Tolpuddle residents were invited to. Also Carmen Jeftha from the South African TUC arrived, accompanied by Gemma Freedman from the International Department of the TUC, to promote "Play Fair at the Olympics', a collaborative campaign between Oxfam, Labour Behind the Label and the TUC, lobbying the IOC to "respect workers' rights in the sportswear industry" (check out the website: www.fairolympics.org )

Wednesday
On Wednesday Peter Courtier from the Racial Equality Council in Bristol joined us to discuss the pertinent issues of Racism. This workshop inspired extensive thought and discussion; we recognised what an important part history plays in current issues, how selectively it is remembered and also how racism is not confined to colour and prevails most easily when institutionalised, even in trade unions! We agreed that it would be beneficial to have further discussion surrounding how to tackle racism in the workplace, but also recognised that it is a small part of a much bigger picture that needs attention for effective long-term change.
In the afternoon we walked 9 miles to the Dorchester Court and cells in memory of the Tolpuddle Martyrs. The tiny, dank dark cells situated directly below the courts shocked us all. We appreciated the picturesque Dorset countryside but were very glad that the coach was taking us back afterwards! That night we ventured into Weymouth to experience some 'South Coast Nightlife'. What can we say? More than sufficient intercultural bonding took place and hilarity ensued when some delegates took to the karaoke stage. Most memorable was one German delegate - Kai's rendition of 'I Will Survive' - as Richard recalls: "it wasn't in tune, in time, or always in English. But it was VERY funny!"

Thursday
This morning saw a lot of sore heads stumble into the catering tent for coffee rather than any breakfast, but all the same, a significant proportion were up and ready for the early expedition to Portland's Young offender's Prison, where a tour and discussion had been arranged, including a short talk from the Governor there.
In the afternoon those who had remained on site went for a tour of the Hall and Woodhouse Brewery in Blandford, with a rather eccentric guide who explained the full distilling process and offered tasters at the end, whilst those in Portland took in the fresh sea air on a coastal walk led by an experienced walker with local knowledge.
In the evening the German delegates once again provided entertainment but this time with Sauerkraut, Bratwurst, beer and a quiz that proved just how little knowledge the British have of German geography!

Friday
Frances O'Grady, DGS of the TUC came to speak with us about the 'Future for Unions'. We were all pleased to meet her and found her talk thought-provoking and encouraging, with a particular emphasis on equal pay, women in the workplace and also a reminder to recognise the advances our current government has made - "it is all to easy to judge and criticise without real consideration to what progress and change has taken place". This talk was followed by an entertaining play about the need for greater learning services in the workplace.
In the afternoon we all got involved in preparations for the weekend and in the evening had our last bonding session while the punters began to arrive and the festival began.

Saturday
On Saturday, delegates Sarah and Beqir were interviewed by the BBC World Service to discuss how relevant unionism is to our generation. It seems clear to us that with less job security and increasing privatisation, belonging to a trade union is as important as ever. Most Young people think to take out insurance on their mobile phones, holidays, house contents, etc. and it is only common sense to insure against our jobs as well.

SUNDAY
The day was packed with good performances and speakers, including Tony & Hilary Benn, Hazel Blears, Minister of State at the Home Office, Brendan Barber, Roger Lyons, Carmen Jeftha from South Africa and 11-year old Mayra from Guatemala. There was a diverse range of music including Billy Bragg, the Oyster Band and Asere from Cuba. And the GMB tent provided members with a delicious buffet lunch, which was more than appreciated!
Delegates were unanimous in agreement that they would all like to return next year and felt that the week had not only been enjoyable but really worthwhile and inspirational. Many were now motivated to become more involved in union activity within their workplace, as well as campaigns promoting greater solidarity and respect for workers' rights regionally, nationally and internationally.