Welsh workers protest pay freeze

By Gareth Bromhall

Following the recent spending review announcement Swansea and District Trades Council called a socially distanced rally in the city centre on Saturday 5th December.

The event drew together socialists, activists and activists from across the city and the surrounding area.

Speakers from several unions, surrounded by banners and a crowd of around 30, called on the Tory government, and their enablers in the Labour led Senedd to put an end to the public sector pay freeze, to meet the NHS workers demands for 15%, to nationalise to prevent looming job losses and called for trade union leaders along with the TUC and WTUC to put on the pressure needed to achieve this.

There were also calls for a new workers party, this call along our TUSC banner got a warm reception from those present.

It was explained that the day’s event, like the one called by Cardiff Trades Council for the same time where only the start of a campaign, That Trade’s Councils will go wider, and begin to put on the pressure needed to take our demands further.

Cardiff Trades Union council held a loud protest against the government’s public sector pay freeze outside Cardiff Castle that blared out its message to shoppers in the city centre.

Workers representing eight unions took part in a socially-distanced rally with seven speakers from PCS, Unite, UCU and Unison.

Katrine Williams, president of Cardiff Trades Council and a PCS Wales committee member, said that public sector workers would not pay for yet another crisis made worse by the Tories. “It was us who have kept the country going through the crisis” she said.

Jaime Davies from PCS pointed out that the day before the chancellor announced a £16 billion cut in public sector pay the Tories announced £15 billion spending on defence and a space mission. “So they can afford it – they just won’t pay it.”

The Tories have tried to divide public sector and private sector workers but the message from private sector workers was the same – “don’t cut our wages”. A message of support was passed on from British Airways Maintenance Cardiff (BAMC) Unite stewards who were unable to attend because they are isolating but have also faced wage cuts of up to £3000 as BA attempted to impose savage cuts on its workforce, threatening to sack the entire workforce and re-employ them with significant pay cuts. BAMC has also imposed over 100 redundancies on the workforce at Cardiff airport.

And John Williams, a bar worker from Unite demanded work or full pay for hospitality workers in Wales who are losing pay and their jobs. The Welsh government has banned the sale of alcohol in pubs and restaurants and many corporate chains were laying off their workforce without pay. John demanded a fight from the trade union movement for work or full pay.

Renata Medeiros from Cardiff University UCU reported that the union is balloting for strike action at Cardiff University over the lack of safety cover for university workers. “Universities are run like corporations” and both staff and students were being put in unsafe conditions.

Every speaker called for action by the trade unions to defeat the Tories attack.