TUC Cymru Congress 2026 - Workplace Organising

Congress notes

• the intransigence of Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board and the dishonest statement they issued on April 2nd that "There is no band 7 health visitor job description that has been agreed in partnership with CTM UHB",
• the escalation of the dispute with notice of strike action until 17th July

Congress fully supports this struggle of around 100 specialist nurses known as health visitors. Their role delivers core health programmes to children under five and supporting families.

They have been fighting for pay justice for five years and had to undertake industrial action just to get the employer in the room to create a job description which fairly reflected the current roles of health visitors which took into account the changes to their education requirements, but the employer has refused to honour the job description process.

Congress condemns:

• the failure of the previous health minister to step in and ensure Cwm Taf Morgannwg and all the other Welsh health boards pay health visitors on the correct pay band
• the failure of social partnership in Wales to resolve this dispute satisfactorily

Congress instructs the General Council to:

• Fully back the Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Visitors’ dispute
• Engage with the new health minister to demand a successful resolution of the dispute and if necessary organise a lobby of the Senedd to force the new government to take the necessary steps.
• Demand all health boards recognise and comply with the job evaluation process and pay the rate for the job

Moved by Cardiff Trades Council

This Congress notes:

• The insistence of the National Library of Wales management to proceed with damaging attacks on staff pensions despite widespread opposition.
• The overwhelming support for PCS members in the National Library of Wales to ballot for strike action with 91.8% supporting taking strike action in the consultative ballot which ended on 24/4/26
• The anger at the well-attended joint PCS and Prospect members meetings about the attacks on the National Library Pension Scheme

This Congress instructs the TUC General Council to:-

• Support National Library workers in their campaign for fair pensions and publicise the industrial action dispute with affiliates including those in the culture sector.
• Work with the unions representing members in the National Library to press Senedd Members and the new Culture Minister once in post to help resolve this dispute and ensure that these devolved public sector workers do not have pension cuts.
• Ensure that National Library workers have pension rights at least as good as the civil service pension scheme or better.
• Work with culture sector affiliates to campaign against cuts in this vital sector which has such a big impact on the wellbeing of people in Wales.

Moved by PCS

Congress recognises that Wales is a bilingual country and Cymraeg belongs to us all. Workplaces are strategic locations for promoting and facilitating increasing opportunities for workers to use Welsh. Growing the use of Welsh in workplaces across all sectors is a key priority of Welsh Government’s ‘Cymraeg 2050’ strategy, upheld by legislation, policy and Welsh language standards across public sector organisations.

The Welsh language is part of the equality and inclusion agenda. TUC Cymru has developed the Twf Charter to help workers, their trade union branches and employers to work together to create inclusive bilingual workplaces and growth in the use of Welsh at work.

Congress notes shortage of the opportunities to learn Welsh in local communities with only half the number of face-to-face classes available compared to the situation before Covid.

Congress believes that the full range of Welsh learning opportunities should be available in every community in order to achieve a fully bilingual workforce.

Congress resolves raise this issue with relevant Welsh Government officials.

Congress maintains that the Twf Charter, and its shared vision, also offers unions - at national level - a pathway and means to demonstrate their commitment, recognition and responsibilities to support, respond, and address the need to achieve linguistic justice and equitable conditions and outcomes for workers to use and learn Welsh at work.

To support the aims and four core principles of the Twf Charter, congress calls upon TUC Cymru to recommend that every trade union in Wales takes progressive action to develop its own Bilingual Policy in Wales. TUC Cymru’s Model Bilingual Policy can support unions with this development.

Individual bilingual policies can take account of each union’s different and unique circumstances, starting points, end goals, and progress already made. Thus, trade unions are demonstrating their national commitment to ensuring linguistic equality in workplaces across Wales.

Moved by TUC Cymru Equalities Committee and Torfaen County Trades Council

Congress welcomes the commitments of the Employment Rights Act to tackle many of the key employment issues affecting young workers, including:

• Delivering statutory sick pay from day one of absence.
• Removing the lower earnings limit for SSP.
• Providing a right to a guaranteed hours contract.
• Requiring employers to give reasonable notice of shifts and payment for cancelled or curtailed shifts.
• Bringing in provisions to protect workers from third party harassment.

The Employment Rights Act also gives unions a strong position to tackle low rates of union membership amongst young workers. It is deeply concerning that only one in five Welsh young workers are a trade union member, however we now have a clear opportunity to fix this.

Therefore, this Conference calls on TUC Cymru to:

• Develop a clear strategy to assist affiliates in taking full advantage of the provisions in the Employment Rights Act to be able to organise young workers.
• Put into practice innovative methods of reaching out to young workers, such as through youth patrols as originally founded by Norwegian trade unions.
• Encourage all affiliated unions to play an active role in identifying target areas and industries for youth patrols.
• Promote the work of these youth patrols through social media platforms engaging new audiences.
• Support the development of young organisers through the Young Workers forum and build their role in delivering and developing the future of the youth patrols.

Moved by Usdaw

Congress notes the acceleration of artificial intelligence and automation and the growing impact of technology on working conditions and job security. Congress further notes that the length of the working week has remained largely unchanged for more than a century despite substantial increases in productivity.

Congress believes technological progress must benefit workers across the whole economy, not deepen inequality or insecurity. Any productivity gains delivered through AI and automation must be shared through meaningful reductions in working time with no loss of pay, improved job security, and improved work-life balance.

Hundreds of workplaces have already adopted shorter working weeks and have reported positive results including: better work/life balance; lower levels of stress; lower staff turnover; lower levels of sick absence, reduced gender pay gap, and greater workplace productivity.

To realise these benefits for workers across Wales, Congress calls on TUC Cymru to:

• Actively promote “a shorter working week with no loss of pay” across the Welsh economy, covering both public and private sectors.
• Campaign for Welsh Government support for pilot schemes and sector-wide trials.
• Establish a cross-union working group to coordinate bargaining and campaigning strategies in every sector.
• Consult with shorter working week campaign organisations.
• Advocate for fair redistribution of productivity gains arising from AI and Automation.
• To report to TUC Cymru General Council on progress on delivery of pilot schemes and trials of shorter working week with no loss of pay by March 2027.

Moved by CWU

Campaigning for a reduced working week on the NHS in Wales

This Congress notes the introduction of the reduced working week in April 2026 in the NHS in Scotland.
This was a major policy change intended to improve workforce wellbeing, retention, and productivity across Scotland’s public services.

Congress notes that the situation in Wales is very different even though Welsh NHS workers face the same pressures and issues as our Scottish counterparts. Congress notes recognised trade unions’ calls for Welsh Government and NHS employers to make good on their 2023 commitment to a reduced working week in the NHS, by implementing a jointly agreed trial in Wales without further delay.

Congress therefore calls on the Welsh Government, NHS Wales to work with NHS unions for parity with Scotland.

We believe that such a move would improve patient outcomes in the NHS by reducing staff burnout and therefore reduce staff absence, stress and morale.

Congress agrees to campaign for parity in the NHS and also for workers across the trade union movement who would benefit from a reduced working week.

While we fully support NHS workers in Wales's campaign for a shorter working week and that we commend the success of our NHS colleagues in Scotland who have achieved this, we are not seeking to formalise a link between industrial bargaining in the two countries.

Moved by RCPoD with a clarification from General Council