By Alec Thraves, Swansea Trades Council and Socialist Party After eight days of strike action, over several weeks, Unite bus workers across South West Wales have voted to accept an improved pay offer from First Cymru whose pay and conditions are amongst some the worst in the transport industry. Whilst still short of the pay parity members were seeking, the ...

By Alec Thraves Unite bus workers have begun a series of planned strikes after overwhelminglyrejecting the company’s measly pay offer, their refusal to honour back pay and toimprove poor working conditions.First Cymru is part of the highly profitable First Group transport network which madeover £200 million profit last year.First Cymru is notorious for paying some of the lowest wages in ...

By Alec Thraves, Swansea Socialist Party and Swansea Trades Council Steelworkers in Community and GMB unions  are awaiting the results of a vote on whether to accept a settlement with Tata Steel. Unite the Union representatives decided that the terms were not good enough at that point to be put to the vote. Up to 2,800 direct-employed jobs will be ...

By Alec Thraves Swansea Socialist Party and Swansea Trades Council Unite has suspended the all-out strike action it was due to start from Monday 8 July, in response to the proposed jobs slaughter by Tata Steel, after a meeting of its reps. This action has forced senior management back to the negotiating table. The fact that, until a few days ...

By Alec Thraves, Swansea Socialist Party and Swansea Trades Council Update 15.45 July 1st This article was posted before Unite’s suspension of its all-out strike action that was due to start next Monday, which has forced talks with the company. We will post further updates. 09.30 July 1st: At the time of writing, Unite members in Port Talbot and Llanwern steelworks are ...

By Alec Thraves (Swansea Socialist Party and Swansea Trades Council) In a bold and decisive escalation of industrial action, Unite the union has announcedthe beginning of indefinite strike action at Tata’s Port Talbot and Llanwern plantsfrom July 8th.This move will be welcomed by many steelworkers, community campaigners and thewider trade union movement who are determined to retain primary steel production,secure ...

By Alec Thraves, Swansea Socialist Party and Swansea Trades Council Tata’s threat to close down its UK steel operations must be met with united strike action from all of the steel unions! Over the weekend, Rajesh Nair, Tata steel CEO, has responded to Unite’s planned work to rule and overtime ban, due to start on June18th, with a threatening letter ...

By Alec Thraves, delegate from Swansea Trades Council With a rebranding its name, on the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Wales TradesUnion Congress (TUC), the 2024 biennial congress of ‘TUC Cymru’ in Llandudno was arefreshing and largely combative event, which took up the key issues facing the trade unionmovement in Wales.A big factor in this changed mood, compared ...

By Alec Thraves Wales TUC Congress delegate The 2024 biennial Wales TUC Congress, meeting in Llandudno on its 50th anniversary, will yet again be debating the continuing attacks on the wages, jobs and conditions of trade unionists across Wales, and the devastating impact these are having on working-class families and communities. The crisis in the public sector will be highlighted, ...

Strike to fight the jobs massacre – Nationalisation not devastation By Alec Thraves (Vice President, Swansea Trades Council) Seven months of fruitless ‘negotiations’ between the steel unions and Tata’s deaf, brutal and intransigent bosses have resulted in the widely expected rejection of both the Unite and the Community/GMB alternative proposals to retain primary steel making at Port Talbot. With a ...