Tolpuddle Guides Strike For Improved Pay, Australia Expects
AT the Tolpuddle Centre in Dorchester, Dorset, nine guides are on strike. All hail the new Tolpuddle martyrs, paid a “paltry” £26 to take tourists around the old crown court, venue for the beginnings of the trade union movement in the UK.
In March 1834, six agricultural workers from the village of Tolpuddle, were shipped off to Australia for sevens years for swearing a secret oath as members of the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers. They became known as the Tolpuddle Martyrs.
Lead martyr Alistair Chisholm, aka George Loveless II, says:
“We have decided we can’t put up with it for any longer. The story of the Tolpuddle Martyrs is fascinating and the irony of what we are doing couldn’t be lost on anyone.
“We’re working from a similar principle, if this council can get away with paying us this little, then there’s nothing stopping others falling to their level. We hope to resolve things in time for us to get back to work for the summer.”
Or as it’s know in Australia: winter…
Posted: 7th, April 2010 | In: Strange But True Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
