Welsh News

By Mariam Kamish, Secretary Caerphilly Trades Council Caerphilly Council, forced onto the defensive in the High Court on Thursday, showedcontempt for our small Valleys communities, fighting to hold onto libraries you can walk to.‘If you choose to live 12 miles down a farm track’, their barrister told the court, ‘that’s yourchoice!’ Such is the council’s scorn for the working class ...

By Jason Wyatt, Unite rep, Tata Steel, Port Talbot The British steel industry is forever in crisis. Decades of deindustrialisation have hollowed out once proud steel towns, and every time the industry is hit by another blow, it’s workers, never shareholders, never governments, who are left to pay the price. The fire at Port Talbot on 5 June is just ...

By Eira Ekenberg-Jones, Rhondda Cynon Taff Socialist Party Cardiff Trans Pride called an emergency demo in response to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)’s new guidance. Despite the extremely warm weather, the demo saw a great turnout of around 400 people. The organisers unfortunately declined to associate with any trade unions or parties. We agreed to attend regardless, making ...

By Dave Warren, Delegate from Swansea Trades Council The biennial congress of TUC Cymru (Wales Trades Union Congress) took place in Llandudno 19-21 May against the background of the political earthquake of Labour losing control of the Senedd (Welsh parliament) for the first time ever. The conference provided a timely opportunity to reassess the political orientation of the trade union ...

By Dave Warren, Swansea As expected, Labour suffered a crushing defeat at the election for the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) on 7 May. Labour won just nine seats out of 96 in a newly extended Senedd, down from 30 seats out of 60 previously. The First Minister, Eluned Morgan lost her seat and has resigned as Labour leader in Wales. It ...

Hospitality worker in Merthyr Tydfil On 16 April, Nigel Farage and his team, including the Welsh Reform leader and Senedd candidate Dan Thomas, came to Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales on the election campaign trail. Unfortunately my workplace was one of the hospitality venues they used to publicise their campaign of division and hate, and the senior management equally capitalised on ...

Socialist Party member Ben Golightly is an elected coordinator for Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) Cymru. He is the lead Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) candidate in Gwyr Abertawe (Swansea and Gower) for the Welsh Senedd elections. £200 a month has been cut from new Universal Credit claims for those unable to work. This is biting now. And it was voted ...

Socialist Party member John Williams is the lead Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) candidate in Caerdydd Ffynnon Taf (Cardiff North and East) for the Welsh Senedd elections. He is a young hospitality worker, LGBT+ activist, and chair of Cardiff general branch of Unite the Union. “A lot of people in my industry think that politics isn’t for them, that the establishment ...

By Dave Bartlett (TUSC candidate in Caerdydd Ffynnon Taf) Socialist stand fights for new workers’ party Dave Bartlett, Cardiff Socialist Party The Welsh Senedd elections take place this May and while the final outcome is not yet known, one thing is certain: Welsh Labour is facing down the barrel of a gun. Socialist Party Wales will be presenting a socialist ...

By Dave Reid Health visitors working for Cwm Taf Health Board have voted to extend their month-long strike for fair pay for a further two months, determined to win the banding which is theirs by right. In a process that began in 2021, Health Board (HB) bosses signed an internal job grading matching them as a band 7 acknowledging a masters qualification ...