Wales TUC: Time for UK Government to deliver fair funding for Wales

• Wales TUC will lead a protest outside the Wales office at 8am tomorrow (Tuesday 15th November).   
• The trade union body is calling on the UK Government to reverse the approach of the last 12 years and to provide the Welsh Government with the a fair funding settlement.
• Wales TUC General Secretary, Shavanah Taj, said: “Wales simply can’t afford austerity 2.0. The UK Government has to step up and recognise that more than a decade of underfunding and underinvestment in Wales has been a disaster. Welsh workers deserve better.”

Ahead of this week’s Autumn Statement from the UK Government, trade unions are calling on the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, to recognise and reverse the underfunding of public services in Wales.

Unions are currently balloting for industrial action across much of the Welsh public sector. While the responsibility for pay in the devolved public sector rests with the Welsh Government, it is only the UK Government that has the financial levers to ensure that proper funding is in place.     

Prior to Covid, Welsh Government budgets saw a real terms cut of 8% while – unlike Scotland – Wales has also not received the estimated £5bn that should justly have been allocated as a result of the UK Government’s investment in the HS2 project. In addition, the Welsh Government estimates that as a result of inflation, the current financial settlement from Westminster is worth £4bn less than when it was initially announced.  

Recent Wales TUC research found that in some areas of the country 1 in 4 people admit to having skipped meals due to the cost of living crisis. Meanwhile, half the population say that they’ve cut back on spending on food and heating.  

The Wales TUC is calling for a significant uplift in funding to Wales to allow all public sector workers to receive an inflation-proof pay rise. In addition they are calling on the Chancellor to uplift the minimum wage to £15 an hour and to raise Universal Credit payments – which are claimed by over 110,000 working people in Wales – in line with inflation.

Wales TUC General Secretary Shavanah Taj said:

“Wales simply can’t afford austerity 2.0. The UK Government has to step up and recognise that more than a decade of underfunding and underinvestment in Wales has been a disaster. Welsh workers deserve better.

“Workers in Wales across both the public and private sectors simply aren’t going to accept the massive cuts to their real terms incomes that they’re currently facing. That’s why we’re seeing teachers, nurses, rail workers, postal workers and many more looking towards industrial action. They will not be made scapegoats for the failings of our chaotic UK Government.”