On Saturday 18 June 2022, trade unions and groups from across the movement came out to demand a stronger government response to the Cost of Living Crisis. Equity were out in full force to demonstrate our commitment to a better standard of living, alongside over 15,000 people walking through London in order to demonstrate.
Despite the measures announced by the Chancellor, not enough is being done to shield Equity members and millions of others from the rise in food, rent, childcare, and petrol costs. 60% of our members fear they will have difficulty in paying these essential costs. 47% of you have already struggled to meet costs in 2021-22 (see our members survey).
During the protest, Equity also unveiled our new banner commemorating the nearly 100 years of the union. Our General Secretary Paul W. Fleming, wrote a detailed Twitter thread about the significance of a banner in union movements:
Our mental health charter
We have published a mental health charter tasked with demanding greater government intervention in areas that will hugely regress in the face the cost of living crisis.
The mental health charter seeks to do this by bringing about deep-rooted structural reform. This includes producers and engagers addressing the harmful impacts of precarious work by improving pay and work-life balance, and adopting relevant safeguards in the workplace, such as mental health risk assessments, safe spaces policies and consultation on organisational change.
Over the coming months we will be taking further action to help Equity members face the cost of living crisis. Watch this space.
