Celebrating the collective power of women with poetry and song on International Women's Day

Poster by Morag Lawrence

 Join us to celebrate International Women's Day in Aberdeen on 8 March 11.30-1pm, with poetry and music by and for women. 

The event, which will be held in the ATUC, 22A Adelphi, Aberdeen, has been organised by Aberdeen Trades Union Council in association with the Aberdeen Morning Star Readers and Supporters Group. 

It is open to both men and women and will hear poetry from women and men celebrating the role of women in communities and political activism. It will also showcase the new Morning Star poetry anthology, Who We Are.

Music will also feature at what promises to be an uplifting event celebrating women's voices and women's power.

Please do come along and join us.

What is International Women's Day (IWD)?
IWD is celebrated annually on March 8.  It is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for advancing gender equality.

IWD has been around for well over a century, with the first IWD marked in 1911.

In 2026, IWD marks an extraordinary milestone: 115 years of collective action, advocacy, and progress toward sex equality. For more than a century, IWD has helped drive transformative change. Each generation has built on the courage of those before it, pushing boundaries and redefining what is possible.

Looking forward to welcoming you to this event. Please come and celebrate the collective power of women in creating change.

Thank you to all workers providing vital services in the worst snow in a decade

Aberdeen Trades Union Council (ATUC) wishes to thank all the workers in Aberdeen City and across Aberdeenshire that went above and beyond in the Wintery conditions earlier in January to protect the citizens of the North East - especially the most vulnerable.

This is when the absolute value of public services and the workers who provide them is laid bare. We have heard many stories of NHS staff's valiant efforts to get into hospitals and health centres, carers going the extra mile to ensure vulnerable older people are not left isolated, the workers who plough the roads and pavements, out in all weathers, the emergency service workers braving the elements, and many many more. We thank all of you.

We recognise that the situation was made even more challenging by the cuts that councils and other public services have faced over 15 years of austerity. We have written to Aberdeen City Council to express our concerns at some of the unreasonable demands made on some, mainly low paid women workers, to get into their work when other colleagues were able to stay at home. 

With climate change we are likely to see more such severe weather events. Aberdeen Trades Union Council calls on all employers to ensure their workers are kept safe in providing services at these times and that the impact of cuts is identified to the Scottish Government to ensure that lessons are learned for the future.

ATUC and individual trade unions will continue to campaign for properly funded public services, for the health and safety of the workforce and for the benefit of the citizens of the North East of Scotland.