Cardiff – Anti-cuts campaign launched
Cardiff parents beat education cuts in 2006, photo Socialist Party Wales
Cardiff trades union council launched a Cardiff Against Cuts campaign on Thursday 23 September to resist the avalanche of cuts promised by the Con-Dem government.
Dave Reid, Socialist Party Wales
The meeting brought together trade unionists representing council workers, civil servants, rail workers, postal workers and many more who recounted the cuts already affecting their service.
Gary Watkins, regional secretary of the Communication Workers Union, explained the threat of privatisation to the Royal Mail by the Con-Dems, promising a campaign in Wales to put pressure on the government.
Mike Crimmins outlined the attack on jobs in Companies House which had reinvigorated the union there. Greg Harrison, secretary of the RMT union branch at Cardiff Rail, warned that the cuts that Network Rail is threatening to make to rail maintenance will put lives at risk.
And contributions from council workers, health workers, Ministry of Justice workers and campaigners in defence of the S4C television channel showed the scale of cuts even before the government’s Comprehensive Spending Review slashes 25% from most government departments.
The mood was of cool determination to resist whatever the government throws at us. The meeting agreed to set up Cardiff Against Cuts (CAC) involving trade unionists and the wider community. CAC takes to the streets on Saturday 9 October to start the campaign.
