A national umbrella formed to defend rights Social Share We are coming close to the completion of the series to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the epic Peoples struggle of 1981 which forced the government of the day to back off from passing two very repressive pieces of legislation, termed the ‘Dread Bills”. Last week we outlined the first of those bills, the Essential Services (Amendment) Bill, which sought to restrict the right of trade unions to take industrial action in furtherance of their just demands in the interest of workers. It was introduced into the House of Assembly a week after one of the most militant May Day celebrations for years.