Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
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Chainmakers: from Cradley Heath to eternity
JENNY ERMOYENOUS tells the story of the women whose 10-week strike secured the first living wage in the history of Britain
The chainmaker women pose with their banners
ANGUS REID explains the significance of Cuba’s egalitarian in letter and spirit Family Code and the pertinent lessons it holds for democracies anywhere in the world
Special report by PEOPLE’S WORLD
NICK WRIGHT considers how the isolation of Israel and a new film on the controversial Italian communist leader are creating new reference points for Italy’s left
CARLOS MARTINEZ says Cuba’s achievements in the face of a criminal blockade are startling, but the island’s future if the United States succeeds in crushing it looks bleak
AMNON BROWNFIELD STEIN reports that far-right MPs who mobbed the event organised by Hadash may have helped raise awareness of the brutality of the Israeli right
IN 1906, George Cadbury, inspired by an exhibition in Germany, financed an exhibition which highlighted sweated industries.
The exhibition revealed the plight of mostly women working in dangerous conditions for a pittance of a wage.
The National Anti-Sweating League was set up following the exhibition, dedicated to the ending of low pay, setting up a minimum wage and improving working conditions.
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Half a century after transformative laws reshaped Britain, women’s rights are again contested. This International Women’s Day is a call to remember how change was won, and to organise to defend it, says KATE RAMSDEN
ANN HENDERSON looks at the trailblazers of the Women’s Trade Union League and their successful fight for female factory inspectors — a battle that echoes in today’s workplace campaigns
TUC Midlands marks 20 years of celebrating the 1910 chainmakers’ victory with a festival that connects historical lessons to modern struggles — because working-class history should inspire action, not just nostalgia, writes STUART RICHARDS
The Morning Star invites readers to join Jeremy Corbyn and others to celebrate a working-class female victory that echoes through the ages