Ronnie Job
A Welsh Labour-led local authority has announced plans to put existing workers on zero-hours contacts.
Officers in Rhondda Cynon Taff (RCT) want to apply these contracts, which reduce wages and take away security, for existing homecare workers.
In the article that breaks this story on Wales Online it says that three of the local authority trade unions, Unison, GMB and Unite, have written a strongly-worded letter, spelling out their opposition to this attempt to force casualisation on their members.
Between them, these three unions give millions of pounds to the Labour Party each year.
The council claims that they have no choice because of cuts being made by the Con-Dem government in Westminster.
As a Unison steward, I’m fed up of my union funding a Labour Party that passes on Con-Dem cuts and attacks our members’ terms and conditions, while bleating they’ve got no choice.
This is not the first time that this Labour council has been zealous at passing on Con-Dem cuts at the expense of local authority workers.
RCT was an early pioneer of the tactic of issuing section 188 notices (essentially sacking the entire workforce to then re-employ them on worse contracts) to drive through changes to terms and conditions.
Once more the myth that public sector workers in Wales are protected by a Welsh Labour Government is exposed as a lie.
Carwyn Jones, the first minister, hails the Memorandum of Understanding, agreed between councils, local authority unions and the Welsh Government as a “breakthrough moment in partnership working” and is looking to bring in something similar for the entire public sector in Wales.
It looks more like a charter for Welsh Labour councils to attack our members’ terms and conditions.
Fight all cuts! Break the link with Labour and support anti-cuts candidates to stand against Labour councillors who carry through Con-Dem cuts.
