Tag Archives: Unison

By Mark Evans, President Swansea Trades Council and retired unison member On October 9th, I highlighted that Health Care Support Workers (HCSW) felt betrayed by the decision of Swansea Bay University Health Board to renege on a local agreement to upgrade these poorly paid employees from Grade 2 to Grade 3. Following a protest outside Morriston Hospital, they held a lobby ...

By Mark Evans, President of Swansea Trades Council, and Swansea Socialist Party About 40 enthusiastic and determined members of Unison attended a 6.30am protest outside Morriston Hospital in Swansea, on a dark and damp 8 October. Socialist Party and Swansea Trades Council members attended, offering solidarity and support, and were welcomed. The protest was organised by Swansea Bay Healthcare Unison in ...

By Mariam Kamish, Caerphilly Trades Union Council secretary ‘Rebel councillor’ Brenda Miles has joined campaigners marching to save the ten local libraries that Caerphilly Labour council wants to close or offload. Councillor Miles says this would put the council in breach of its statutory duty to provide library services. Our march set off led by local children dressed as story ...

By Mark Evans, Retired Members Branch Secretary Carmarthenshire County Unison (personal capacity) Members gave blood,sweat and years to the council pay their pension For approximately the first ten years I was branch secretary of Carmarthenshire County Unison local government branch with around 4,000 members I cannot recall the branch dealing with a case of a member being refused ill-health retirement ...

By Dave Reid Labour-run Caerphilly council has doubled down on its £45 million cuts agenda by announcing 600 job losses at the authority. This follows threats to close meals on wheels, Blackwood Miners’ Institute and Llancaiach Fawr house (as reported in The Socialist Issues 1287-1292). At its latest meeting the Labour administration gave in to pressure not to close the ...

By Mark Evans Around 200 people marched on the demonstration in Llanelli on Saturday 7th of September to get the council to reverse its decision not to fund a new purpose-built school. For years, the council including the previous Plaid leader Emlyn Dole gave an undertaking to staff and pupils that a new school that would replace Heol Goffa which ...

By John Williams (Cardiff East Socialist Party) A community campaign fought the privatisation of St David’s Hall earlier in the year, and opposed plans to close a Cardiff library and further library cuts. Unfortunately, the Labour council went ahead with privatisation. It’s now been revealed that the council agreed a secret anti-union deal with the new owners, when it privatised ...

By John Williams (Cardiff East Socialist Party) Labour-led Cardiff city council are attempting to push through the privatisation of St David’s Hall, (currently in public hands) to Live-Nation, quoting a maintenance backlog of £55m- which is actually more like £9m, according to the campaign organisers against the plans. They’ve refused to seek alternative funding streams, despite a signed letter from ...

Peniel Care Home in Carmarthenshire has declared that it is going into liquidation leaving residents and care workers high and dry. Carmarthenshire Unison branch has issued this statement: “Our members and other staff working at Peniel Care Home have been informed at short  notice that the care home, where in some cases they have worked for many years, is to ...

By Rob Williams, Socialist Party trade union organiser 2023 is beginning as 2022 ended, with significant nationwide strike action, this time of railway workers in RMT and Aslef. Postal workers continue their fight against Royal Mail bosses and are gearing up for a mandatory reballot after six months of strikes. NHS workers, nurses and ambulance workers have more strike dates set for this ...