Quakers march on May Day
'Quakers are proudly part of the movement of millions who are striving to make their workplaces and the wider world move towards the fundamental Quaker values we hold so dear.'
Members of the Quaker Socialist Society (QSS) joined the May Day march in London last week, against a backdrop of public sector strikes.
Laurence Hall, from QSS and Westminster Meeting, said they joined the march to ‘publicly show that we as Quakers are proudly part of the movement of millions who are striving to make their workplaces and the wider world move towards the fundamental Quaker values we hold so dear’.
Carrying a QSS banner and marching from Clerkenwell Green to Trafalgar Square, the small group of Friends wanted to stand in solidarity with the nationwide strikes, including mainly nurses, doctors, teachers, lecturers, railway workers and civil servants.
The number of participants was small, as the march was on a bank holiday and coincided with Yearly Meeting in Friends House. Nonetheless the Friends said they wanted to ‘add their ethical voice for social justice to the financial demands being made by trades unions on behalf of members impoverished by cuts and austerity since 2008 and now by soaring inflation and soaring interest rates. As usual, we took our banner in order to register our presence’.
Their protest had an ‘ethical dimension, not just a financial one too’, they said, writing on the QSS website: ‘Since 2008 poorer workers have experienced a severe drop in their living standards yet every striker gives up their pay for any days on strike, and so performs a selfless act.’
‘May Day is the day in the year when labour, and the infrastructure upon which labour depends, is brought to the fore and there is a clear demand made all over the world for the value of labour to be recognised and appreciated.’
The group retired to Westminster Meeting House for hospitality and refreshments after the march.
You need to login to read subscriber-only content and/or comment on articles.