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The right to work-200 join in march for unity (Photo 7 of 8)
27 Jun 1976
Bill Whittaker and Mike Cooney address the marchers.
The area unemployment rate has risen and the figure of 80 unemployed is the figure for every job that exists. Our position in the textile industry is grim and of the 50 or so mills in the area only about 10 are working full time. In 1975 the reduction of the labour force in the North West alone was 80,000 people.
More than 200 people marched through Burnley carrying banners demanding the right to work, to the shouts of What do we want? Work. There were similar marches throughout the country as part of a national day of action against unemployment and cuts in public spending. The demonstration was organized by Burnley Trades Council and following the march the assembly gathered on Curzon Street to hear speeches by Mike Cooney, works convenor at Lucas Aerospace and Albert Shaw, secretary of Burnley & nelson Textile Workers Union. He told the meeting that in a report from the County Planning Officer 1000 people left the Burnley area each year since 1971, movement related to unemployment in the area.
Mr Cooney then took the platform stressing the need for the employed to fight for the unemployed and for all workers to be united. One of our problems is apathy and apathy causes worker to turn against worker, and this creates problems with race. Race is nothing to do with the issue, we are all workers fighting for a common cause. He went on to condemn cuts in the Health Service which, if they continued would mean the end of the service as we knew it, and redundancies for its employees.
