Right to strike is a British liberty and it's under threat

When I left school, there were plenty of secure, reasonably paid jobs with regular hours and an hour for lunch. If I got bored, I could find a similar job quite easily.

On this income, I could afford to learn to drive, move out from my parents and go on a couple of modest holidays a year.

These conditions were fought for by workers and unions who went before me.

My grown up children do not have the same opportunity as I did. Many jobs are zero hours contracts, horrible long hours without adequate breaks to eat properly and poorly paid, stopping young adults being able to leave home, coupled with the extortionate cost of renting.

Now it seems, things are going to get worse!

The right to strike is a fundamental British liberty, but it is under direct attack from the Conservatives' draconian strikes bill.

The bill would mean that when workers democratically vote to strike, they could be forced to work and sacked if they don’t comply.

The TUC says this is undemocratic, unworkable and almost certainly illegal.

The government is wasting precious time and energy on this spiteful bill while millions are struggling to heat their homes and put food on the table.

And it will do nothing to solve the staffing crisis in our schools and in the NHS – but only make matters worse.

It’s time our government got its priorities straight.

They should stop attacking the right to strike and give our public sector workers the decent pay rise they are owed.

Kate Linnegar

By email

Join book club to help ShelterBox

Seeing children of all ages come together this World Book Day to celebrate their favourite books, I’m reminded of how the joy of reading for pleasure extends through generations and time.

Immersing oneself in a great book can be the perfect form of escapism, even as an adult, often experiencing new cultures and learning more about the world around us.

The tricky part can sometimes be finding the right book or recommendation, so why not let me hand pick one for you?

At the international disaster relief charity ShelterBox, we have a rather unique book club that helps provide emergency shelter to people after disaster.

The proceeds support people affected by conflict, like in Ukraine, Yemen, Burkina Faso, and Mozambique. As well as to people whose homes have been damaged or destroyed by extreme weather events – like the ongoing drought in East Africa, monsoon flooding in Pakistan, and tropical storms in the Philippines.

As head bookworm at the ShelterBox Book Club, I scour the literary world for fantastic stories that can make armchair adventurers of us all.

From the best autobiographies, such as A Woman of Firsts which tells the remarkable story of Edna Adan Ismail – the first medically trained midwife in Somalia, to beautiful novels like Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa - a story of multigenerational friendship in Japan, or even our current read My Pen is the Wing of a Bird - new writing by Afghan women, every book we read transports us.

What I love most about the ShelterBox Book Club is that our wonderful community of book lovers are having a positive impact on people around the world that they’ll never meet. I think that’s pretty special.

To find out more, visit www.shelterbox.org/book-club.

Catherine Thornhill

Head Bookworm

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