Morning crew, Darran Scully, Cllr Rachel Eden, John Partington, Chris Reilly, Cllr John Ennis, Matt Rodda Reading East Labour MP |
The Reading labour
movement started the new year with a leafleting campaign at Reading Railway
Station.
Fraternising with the early morning commuters on 2 January 2018, activists
from the Reading Trades Union Council and members of the Reading & District
Labour Party discussed the effects of fare increases with the travelling public
– a 34% increase since the Conservatives came to power (including a 3.6%
increase this year alone).
Jim Parker (UNITE), Chris Reilly (RMT), Darran Scully (ASLEF) and John
Partington (TSSA) represented the RTUC in the morning, joining Labour
Councillors, Rachel Eden and John Ennis, and Labour’s Reading East MP, Matt
Rodda, as well as others.
In the evening, a
second effort was staged, with Cllr Sarah Hacker and Keith Jerrome (both UNITE)
from the RTUC joining other labour activists. Leaflets were distributed
promoting the Labour Party’s rail policies, including capped fares and renationalisation
of the industry. The demonstration attracted media attention, with publicity on
the BBC’s South Today news bulletin.
Cllr Sarah Hacker, RTUC delegate, and RDLP activists |