People organising a memorial service to pay tribute to those killed at work are “aggrieved” the council has forced them to cancel it.

Waltham Forest Council has “refused to endorse the booking” from Trades Council of Waltham Forest for the event in Coronation Gardens.

The event, also linked to May Day Celebrations, was due to take place on April 28 in Coronation Gardens, Leyton.

Representatives from the Trades Council were due to hold a memorial service to remember those killed at work from 1pm to 2pm followed by a May Day celebration event until 5pm.

The events were scheduled to celebrate international workers’ day and working together and were themed around tackling high rents and low wages.

Representatives from the Trades Council were due to give talks and speeches at the event.

Linda Taaffe, Secretary for Waltham Forest Trades Council, said: “All we can say at the moment is the council have refused to endorse the booking.

“We’ve had to cancel everything we’ve been working for for 6 months. We’ve held the memorial service every year, every April 28, no matter what day of the week it falls on. They said no.

“We lay a wreath, just to remember. We normally do it at the Town Hall, we invite the MP and councillors if they want to come along.”

Ms Taaffe said one of the Trades Council officers is looking into making alternative arrangements.

She added: “We’re very aggrieved. May Day is international day of workers. Waltham Forest is home to workers of the world. Conditions of people at work aren’t getting better and the crisis in housing means we need to join together to get better pay and bring down rents.”

Ms Taaffe also said the council has organised “an alternative workers’ memorial service” on April 27 at the Town Hall.

Dave Knight, president of the Waltham Forest Trade Union Council, said, “We have never had to obtain permission to hold this event previously. If the refusal to allow it to take place wasn’t bad enough, the Mayor’s Office seemed to want to rub salt into our wounds by announcing their own event just over six hours later."

Tom Taylor, assistant secretary of WFTUC, said, “This event would have provided a brilliant opportunity for people of all backgrounds in WF, eking out a living on low pay and sky-rocketing rents, to come together in  unity to celebrate our common struggle to achieve a decent standard of living for all.”

A council spokesman said: “The organisers of this event had promoted it without seeking permission to use Coronation Gardens. When this was raised with them, an application was submitted but this did not leave time for the application to be processed.

"The cancellation of the event was not just a case of us not endorsing the booking. They didn’t submit an application for public liability insurance. Their license didn’t include live music. They’ve not done their homework.

“The Mayor’s Memorial Service on Friday April 27 is to allow council staff and the staff of our partners to attend and reflect as we recognise workers killed, disabled, injured or made unwell by their work.”

Waltham Forest Trades Council will still be participating in the May Day march from Clerkenwell to Trafalgar Square on May 1.