They were marching to warn the ruling Labor Party that it faced a "disastrous defeat" at the next General Election unless it urgently resolved the issues of National Health Service reform, job insecurity and pensions, Sky news reported.

    "I warned last year that a change in government policy was needed to stop the rapid decline in core support for the Labor Party," said Derek Simpson, general secretary of Amicus, Britain's largest manufacturing, technical and skilled persons' union.

    Brendan Barber, general secretary of the Trade Union Congress, told the rally: "May Day is the day when the labor movement across the world celebrates the core values that we stand for and the dignity and justice at work to which all workers should be entitled," he said.

    Calling for a Trade Union Freedom Bill to allow unions to properly protect their members, Barber told the rally that stronger laws were needed to tackle poverty pay, close the gender wage gap, and root out discrimination. Enditem