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Wales Shop
Stewards Network sets up an anti-cuts committee
17 April
A meeting of trade unionists and campaigners fighting the cuts has
agreed to set up a Wales Anti Cuts Committee to coordinate the fight
back of trade union branches and anti-cuts campaigns across Wales. So
that we can maximise the impact we can make together to oppose all
cuts.
More than 70 representatives gathered at the Wales Shop Stewards
Network conference in Cardiff to discuss the next steps in the
fightback against cuts in jobs and services.
ITV Wales news reported "leading trade unionists in Wales supported
the call for a 24 hour general strike" in its main news item that
night no doubt causing the Wales TUC leaders to choke on their teas.
The Wales TUC actually cancelled its annual conference for 2011
instead of using the event to rally the trade union movement in Wales
to resist the cuts.
Speakers emphasised the need for opposition to all the cuts and to
organise co-ordinated resistance including a 24 hour public sector
general strike.
PCS national vice president John McInally said the turnout of up to
700,000 people on the March 26 TUC demo had frightened the Government,
TUC and Labour. If the movement allowed the cuts to happen and waited
for the return of a Labour Government there would be nothing left.
He said: �We must ballot for widespread co-ordinated industrial action
and not just in the public sector. The left in the unions must
articulate a clear �no cuts� strategy based on an alternative and must
organise within our unions.�
Representatives spoke of the need to fight against attacks wherever
they came from, including the threat by Rhondda Cynon Taff and Neath
Port Talbot to sack all their workers if they did not accept dramatic
cuts in their pay and conditions.
There was a warm welcome for PJ McParlin who will be taking over as
national Chairman of the Prison Officers Association and the new Wales
and South West NEC member John Hancock who spoke of their fight
against privatisation and for a publicly owned and run prison system
which could rehabilitate prisoners.
There was a good discussion about national campaigning issues with
input from speakers from UCU, NUT and PCS about the plans to work
together to build coordinated industrial action. It was also clear
that the WSSN can do a lot to enthuse and inspire shop stewards across
all the public sector unions to demand support for action against the
assault on our pensions alongside those unions which are already
planning action.
With the government�s attack on welfare benefits and equality and
health and safety legislation then it is clear that we also need to be
demanding job creation and real jobs on real wages for all. Les
Woodward GMB Remploy convenor gave an impassioned speech about how
members in Swansea Remploy will fight for a future and stand alongside
any trade unionists taking action in Wales against the cuts.
The conference gave out the enthusiastic and confident message that
there are more of us than them. We will help build on the fantastic
turnout on March 26th to support anti-cuts campaigning
across Wales. This anti-cuts conference made it clear that we won�t
let politicians off the hook as we will put demands on all of them
that they should fight for the full funding that Wales needs and not
wield the axe on behalf of the ConDem Government on vital jobs and
services in our communities.
The WSSN conference elected a steering committee of six to set up the
Wales Anti Cuts Committee and also agreed to build support for the May
Day march against cuts organised by Swansea Trades Council on April 30
and the Aberystwyth anti cuts demonstration organised by Ceredigion
Against the Cuts on May 7. |
