The outcomes once again show conservative government policies as seriously wrongheaded. While the coming monthly figures are likely to show inflation back at target, across the two years the UK has paid a much higher price than other countries in terms of growth.
In the 2014 award-winning film Pride, Dai Donovan is the warm, good-humoured Welsh miner who meets Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM) in London and then, back home in Wales, hosts members of the group on his living-room floor. He’s undoubtedly one of the heroes of the film.
When Wales TUC was established in 1974 we were still in the early days of the Equal Pay Act. LGBTQ+ rights were lacking, Disabled people were medicalised and racism was commonplace, with riots continuing throughout this decade and the next.
For 25 years workers in Wales have been able to access training and learning in their workplace thanks to a Welsh Government funded programme called WULF. Find out how his union and Wales Union Learning Fund helped Mark keep his job, and change his life.
50 years ago, the union movement in Wales gathered in Aberystwyth to enact a plan that had been years in the making. The outcome of this meeting would reshape the trade union movement in the UK, and be a guiding light for the path of Wales as a nation.
The latest government announcement on reforms to financial support for those with ill health or disability is full of misleading rhetoric. The lives of those with ill health or disability are completely misrepresented, and the language the government uses is divisive.
New figures today showed unemployment rising sharply by 166,000 on the quarter to 1,486,000. The unemployment rate rose by 0.5 percentage points to 4.3 per cent.
We held our Black Workers Conference over the weekend and had delegates from across the movement come together in celebration, strength and solidarity.
Since the pandemic lockdowns, the number of people able to work from home for all or part of their working time has increased. This opportunity has been beneficial for many workers. Home working, as well as other forms of flexible working, helps to close the gender pay gap, removes barriers to disabled and older workers, can offer a better work life balance and supports workplaces to be more productive.
Wales TUC is committed to improving our own Welsh language offering to trade union members. Now we’re starting to support trade unions on their own Welsh language journeys.
UK unions have been excluded from trade talks to date. As a result they contain no commitment to enforce protections for workers’ rights, promote decent jobs and free quality public services, or address gender inequalities.
Nowadays when we think of the national minimum wage (NMW), we think of what is roundly accepted as one of the great policy successes of our time. But we shouldn’t kid ourselves that there was unanimity about the need to raise wages.
New TUC analysis for our 2024 Young Workers Conference shows that more than 700,000 workers aged 18-20 across the UK are set to be left out of pocket as they are paid a lower rate of the minimum wage.
On 18 March, the TUC wrote to Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch in response to the news that the UK continues to be in active trade talks with Israel.
21 March is the UN international day for the elimination of racial discrimination. Although marking the historic Sharpesville massacre and how we combat racism today is important – it’s not enough. Our struggle against racism must be constant and consistent.
Since the pandemic lockdowns, there has been a lot of discussion about the benefits and drawbacks of home working but very little has included the voices of BME workers. TUC and University of Exeter have tried to address that gap though new research.
Today marks International Women’s Day a celebration rooted in commemorating the industrial action taken by young migrant women workers during the New York International Ladies Garment Worker Strike, 1909.
Dishonestly claiming a ‘Budget for long-term growth’, the Chancellor today doubled down on the failed Tory approach of the last 14 years. From 2010 to 2024 UK economic growth has averaged 1.5 per cent a year, the worse outcome for a government since the great depression, and a third below the long-term average of 2.4 per cent.
"I’m very pleased to be able to contribute to the discussion prompted by the Devolution and Work Commission report on behalf of PCS, a union with a longstanding commitment to democratic devolution; our main predecessor unions campaigned for an Assembly in the 1997 referendum and we also backed the ‘yes’ campaign in the 2011 referendum on primary law-making powers."
(Darren Williams, PCS National Officer for Wales)
In a guest blog post Gareth Hathway details how Australia’s unions and its Labor Government are driving forward fair work by shutting down loopholes in work regulations.
On 7 February, the TUC wrote to Lord Cameron, Secretary of State for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) on the escalating violence in Gaza, Israel and the Middle East. We have long-standing policy in support of Palestinian rights and ending the occupation of Palestinian territory.
The UK’s long experiment with a low-rights, low-wage economy is drawing to an end, and employers need to recognise now is not the time for foot-dragging.
Devolution can shape the lives of working people for better or worse. Therefore, it is crucial that the trade union movement is aware of and informing the work of devolved authorities to ensure devolution improves the world of work and improves the lives of our memb
Hundreds of workers in Wales, working in ports and airports could effectively lose their right to strike, thanks to harsh new regulations introduced by the UK government.