Tag Archives: Welsh government

After 17 days of strike action Stagecoach members of Unite at Cwmbran, Blackwood and Brynmawr depots have voted to accept a deal that wins a £1 an hour rise to £10.50, backdated to April. Attacks on sick pay and rights for new starters were also fought off. Stagecoach had offered a measly £10.10 an hour which would be paid for ...

By Dave Reid Over 200 stagecoach drivers at Cwmbran, Blackwood and Brynmawr depots, members of Unite, have completed their sixth day of strike action, the first of six phases. The next strike day is due to be Friday 29th October unless the company gives into the union demands for a rise to £10.50 an hour from £9.50. The company has ...

By Katrine Williams, Wales TUC general council (in a personal capacity The UK Tory government is setting up another colossal experiment which could put wave three of the pandemic into super-exponential growth. Placing all the blame on us. The ‘learning to live with Covid’ mantra just means the Tories are happy to accept more people will die and do nothing ...

By Dave Reid Following on from last week’s protest in Swansea, construction electricians in Unite the union, supported by Cardiff Trades Union Council, protested outside the Cardiff offices of construction giant, NG Bailey. They chanted “No de-skilling, no ESO!” at the company which is trying to force down wages and skill levels at the huge Hinkley Point nuclear power station ...

Belatedly the Welsh government has announced the closures of secondary schools in Wales next week, but not of primary schools – yet. This was a last minute reaction to the rising cases in Welsh schools and the fact that large numbers of pupils and teachers were indicating that they would in effect boycott the schools any way so they could ...

By Ross Saunders The Welsh government’s strategy for containing the virus is not working. Wales currently has the highest infection rate in the UK and a record 1800 people in hospital with the disease – higher than during the first wave. But the Welsh government’s half-measures response will neither stop the spread of the virus nor protect the incomes of ...

By Alec Thraves Swansea Socialist Party Once again, just before Xmas, the jobs of thousands of Tata UK steelworkers are threatened by the announcement that Tata Steel intends to make its UK business “self-sustaining” whilst at the same time off-loading its Netherlands based operations, making the UK, with approximately 8000 workers, its sole European steel operation. Around 4,000 of those ...

By Dave Reid The Wales and Border rail franchise will effectively be nationalised in February as franchise holding company Keolis Amey (KA) walks away from its contract. The collapse of ticket sales in the Covid crisis has led to huge losses for the conglomerate and so the company will hand over the train operating services to publicly-owned Transport For Wales. ...

By Ross Saunders The Welsh government is imposing a national “firebreak” lockdown from Friday, as the second wave of the corona virus washes over the country. From Friday 23rd October to Monday 9th November everyone will be asked to stay at home and many workplaces in leisure, retail and hospitality will shut. Children in years 9 and above will also ...

Two million people in lockdown, virtually the whole of South Wales from Llanelli to Newport and two thirds of the Welsh population – the second wave has arrived. The Welsh government has announced strict restrictions on people’s movements, but only as far as their personal lives are concerned. If they are involved in making money for other people then the ...