TUC Cymru Congress 2026 - Worker Health and Safety

Congress welcomes the approach to the creation of publicly owned Great British Railways (GBR) taken by Wales and UK Governments, including a statutory role for the Welsh Government in GBR and a commitment to jointly consider further integration between track and train.

Congress calls for protections and improvement of rail jobs and conditions to be central to the development of railways in Wales and Great British Railways, including insourcing all outsourced rail workers and also for massively increased investment in rail infrastructure and investment across Wales.

However, Congress notes with concern rising levels of violence, abuse and harassment – including racial and sexual harassment – suffered by workers across the transport network, and a number of recent, horrific cases of assault and abuse that have taken place on TfW services.

Congress congratulates the Welsh Government for its recent ‘Safety in Public Transport Summit’ and believes it provides a good springboard for an action plan to tackle violence, abuse and harassment on TfW services and Wales’s wider transport system.

Nonetheless, Congress has serious concerns about the increasing prevalence and severity of violence and abuse on public transport in Wales, with an RMT survey revealing 80% of workers in Wales experienced workplace violence in the past year. Congress believes far more needs to be done to prevent assaults and also improve passenger safety.

Congress therefore supports RMT’s Action Against Assaults campaign in Wales  and TSSA’s campaign to ‘Keep Transport Workers Safe’ which has been calling for strong action to end the violence and abuse experienced by transport workers in the job.

Congress resolves to support RMT and TSSA’s campaigns by calling for –

1. Zero tolerance of violence and abuse
2. An end to lone working and increased, adequate, staffing levels on the transport network
3. Keep our ticket offices open
4. Effective action from employers to protect workers
5. Increases, not cuts, to the British Transport Police
6. Proper funding that supports public transport improvements to enhance worker and passengers’ safety and security
7. Better lighting, CCTV and Help Points at stations and interchanges
8. TfW to work with venues, local authorities and other relevant groups to establish crowd management plans and procedures
9. Ongoing access to support for the victims and no loss of earnings due to time off for recovery
10. Training for managers in supporting staff, and access to support for their own vicarious trauma
11. Stronger legal protections for public transport workers and public facing workers suffering violence, abuse and harassment at work
12. A Welsh Government action plan on tackling violence, abuse and harassment on TfW services.

Congress agrees the General Council should support the campaign by lobbying Senedd members and MPs in Wales and to consider supporting any campaigning or industrial initiatives which are undertaken to further the campaign’s objectives.

Moved by RMT and TSSA

Congress notes and welcomes the Fire Brigades Union's ongoing campaign to secure Welsh Government commitment to improved and active annual cancer, health and exposure monitoring for firefighters across Wales.

This campaign is based on evidence highlighting significantly higher cancer and disease mortality among firefighters.
Congress recognises that support from TUC Cymru could help secure national funding, policy development, and legislative progress to protect firefighter health.

Congress urges TUC Cymru to formally endorse this campaign and raise it directly with Welsh Government and Political parties.

Moved by FBU

Congress is extremely concerned about the weaponised violence that has taken place against teachers and support staff in schools in Wales in recent years. There is no excuse for violence in schools and Congress stands in solidarity with education workers who are facing increased violence in schools.

Congress notes that whilst weaponised violence is rare, education workers have reported increasing incidence of physical violence and abuse since Covid. Congress welcomed the Welsh Government’s ‘Learner Behaviour’ Summit in 2025 but is concerned the there has been few demonstrable outcomes from that summit.

Congress therefore calls on the Welsh Government to prioritise the safety of education workers and, by so doing, the safety of learners.

Congress calls upon TUC Cymru to campaign for the Welsh Government to:

1. Honour the obligations promised from the 2025 Learner Behaviour Summit;
2. Enforce a consistent system for monitoring, recording and responding to incidents of abuse/violence in schools where staff feel supported by headteachers in reporting incidents, challenging any perception that violence is to be endured as a normal part of the working culture;
3. Implement systems of appropriate support for staff, including targeted support for staff who have experienced abuse/violence and a system which affords staff a break from working with the young person who’s assaulted/ harassed them;
4. Ensure the appointment and deployment of more Education Psychologists in Wales;
5. Appropriately resource CAHMS and social services and ensure that all bodies that deal with the mental health and wellbeing of children work closely together, co-operate and collaborate;
6. Conduct a full and genuine consultation with the Education Unions on Wales wide Guidance on Learner behaviour Management

Moved by NASUWT

Congress notes that women make up the majority of the NHS workforce, yet NHS workplace structures still fail to adequately recognise or support key aspects of women’s health. Conditions such as menstruation, menopause, pregnancy, post-natal recovery, fertility treatment and gynaecological disorders continue to affect attendance, wellbeing and retention, often without appropriate workplace adjustments.

Congress notes ongoing issues including: limited access to private, hygienic spaces for changing, breastfeeding or managing menstrual needs; uniforms and PPE that do not reflect women’s bodies or life stages; inconsistent line-manager understanding; and attendance-management processes that do not adequately account for recognised medical conditions. These failures directly contribute to increased sickness absence and severe pressure on staffing levels.

Congress believes that workplace conditions should not disadvantage women or undermine the wider household, and that NHS Wales must demonstrate leadership in supporting women’s health across all staff groups.

Congress calls on the General Council to:

1. Lobby the Welsh Government and NHS employers to ensure guaranteed access to appropriate private spaces, and to review NHS uniforms and PPE with women’s comfort, dignity and practicality in mind.
2. Press for national guidance so women’s health conditions are properly considered within attendance and capability frameworks.
3. Promote mandatory training for managers on women’s health and reasonable adjustments.
4. Advocate improved flexible working for those affected by women’s health conditions.
5. Ensure policy development recognises impacts on partners, spouses and families, and supports a sustainable NHS workforce.

Moved by RCPoD

Congress notes that:

1. The proportion of NHS staff who report feeling safe from abuse by patients and members of the public has fallen markedly, indicating a worsening safety environment for staff in patient-facing roles.
2. Staff recruited from outside the UK and staff from ethnic minority backgrounds report lower levels of safety, inclusion and protection at work, demonstrating a disproportionate impact of abuse and hostility on these groups.
3. Despite some improvement in reporting mechanisms, confidence that organisations will take effective action in response to abuse remains low, contributing to inconsistent employer responses and leaving many staff to manage unacceptable behaviour without adequate organisational backing

Congress believes that:

1. No NHS worker should be expected to tolerate abuse as part of their job.
2. Employers and governments have a duty to provide safe working environments, free from harassment and discrimination.
3. Clear, visible, and enforceable standards of patient behaviour protect staff, improve workplace culture, and reinforce zero-tolerance commitments to racism.

Congress resolves to:

1. Call on the Welsh Government to build on new powers and introduce a national red and yellow card scheme for patient behaviour across NHS Wales.
2. Ensure such a scheme explicitly addresses racial abuse and provides enhanced protections for internationally trained and racialised workers.
3. Urge TUC Cymru to work with Welsh affiliates to develop guidance, share international best practice, and press for consistent implementation across all NHS employers in Wales.

Moved by TUC Cymru Equalities Committee