I think we can all agree that 2020 has been quite a year. The Covid crisis has shown us more clearly than ever that, even if we're all in the same sea, some of us are in very different boats. And some of us are floating in the water just trying our best not to go under.
Adult skills spending has fallen off a cliff during the last decade. We need an expansive retraining programme that will support unemployed people to get the skills they need to return to employment.
All my adult life I’ve made excuses about why I didn’t speak Welsh like “I didn’t learn it in school” or “my family didn’t speak Welsh”. I was embarrassed every time I was asked. But the truth was the real reason I didn’t speak Welsh was that I had never bothered to learn.
Workers at firms hard hit by the coronavirus lockdown are to continue to get wage subsidies, after the government bowed to pressure from trade unions and others.
The government has announced a mixed bag of reforms to the creaking tribunal system, but only significant investment will ensure working people receive timely access to justice.
Through the minimum wage and public sector pay awards the government controls the pay of more than six million key workers. They must give them a pay rise.
GDP shows the economy continuing to come back as the lockdown was eased, but many industries still with massive ground to make up, and danger ahead as the furlough scheme ends.
Current rates of statutory sick pay leave many workers facing an impossible choice between going to work ill or falling into debt. This needs to change.
I’ve written previously about the impact of coronavirus on the BME community, anti-Semitism, and anti-Chinese racism. This week I’m looking at something a lot more positive – the role of trade unions in tackling the far-right.
The far-right are always seeking to normalise racist attitudes and behaviours. Legitimate criticism of the actions of the Chinese state have been hijacked. Chinese visitors and students, as well as UK citizens of Chinese or South-East Asian heritage, have been personally blamed for the pandemic.
Coronavirus is, in many ways, showing the best of British. But alongside this humanity, we’ve seen a rise in hatred. Far-right extremists have tried to take advantage of coronavirus to spread division. They’re undermining our communities, our trade unions and our hard fought for rights.
Wales is becoming a safer place to cycle. Local authorities have new funding to set up networks of segregated ‘pop-up’ cycleways and more people are getting out and about on their bikes.
Will this lead to a long-term change in the way we travel to work? And what can unions do to get employers to provide support and facilities for those who want to cycle?
Millions more people are struggling to balance paid work and caring responsibilities during the pandemic. Paid leave and flexible working could help prevent people sliding into hardship.