Shavanah Taj appointed as permanent General Secretary of the Wales TUC

Shavanah Taj has been appointed as the permanent General Secretary of the Wales TUC. She has served in the role in an interim position since February 2020 and has led the union movement in Wales through the Covid 19 crisis.

Shavanah is the first BAME General Secretary of the Wales TUC. She joined from the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), where she was the Welsh Secretary from 2013.

The Wales TUC is the umbrella body for the trade unions and represents 48 affiliate unions and 400,000 trade union members in Wales.

In addition, Shavanah will also be playing a UK-wide role in leading the TUC’s drive to increase the representation of BAME reps in the union movement alongside the TUC’s anti-racism taskforce.

She replaces Martin Mansfield – who held the post for 12 years from 2008.

“Our trade union movement has an absolutely vital role to play in ensuring that we build a better, fairer Wales as we come out of the Covid pandemic. I’m delighted that I’ll be able to play my part as General Secretary of the Wales TUC.

“The crisis over the last year has shone a spotlight on the deep inequalities in our society. Yet again it has been BAME workers, working class workers, and young workers who have been exposed to the greatest hardships.

“But I believe that the pandemic has also opened many people’s eyes. And there a growing desire for genuine change. As trade unions, we need to seize that opportunity to continue to build, grow, and win on key issues workers care about.

“We have an ambitious, practical agenda and we look forward to working with the Welsh Government, employer side and wider social partners to deliver fair work for workers across Wales.”