In the Chair’s address to conference, Nick Ireland – Usdaw Regional Secretary said: “During the past two years many of us have experienced loss and heartache at the hands of the virus and our conference will help us all reflect on a very challenging time. Throughout the pandemic we have seen the very best of the labour movement with our First Minister at the forefront, leading Wales in a calm, assured and measured manner. Thousands of trade union members continued to work every day in hospitals, in our public services, in our schools and members from my union, Usdaw, making sure we had food on our tables; whether working in supermarkets, driving deliveries or making the food itself.
 
“As we campaign to win town halls up and down Wales, we can do that with a sense of pride, unity and achievement. Labour in Wales has given us: free prescriptions; free breakfasts for every primary school child; the best childcare offer for working parents in the UK; we didn’t have to re-introduce bursaries for nurses, because they we not scrapped in the first place; fracking doesn’t have to be prevented in Wales, because it has never been allowed; Welsh Labour are building council houses again; abolished the right to buy; children in Wales are protected from physical punishment, and railways are back under public control.”
 
“Our manifesto for the Senedd elections last year set out to build on those achievements. It was bold, radical and has the people of Wales at its heart. Welsh Labour has since delivered a Young Persons Guarantee, giving every young person, a guaranteed offer of a job or a place in education, training or help to start their own business. Giving our amazing care staff, who helped us through the pandemic, a fair deal at work with the implementation of the real Living Wage. And will help keep our communities safe by putting 100 more Police Community Support Officers on our streets, funding 600 in total across Wales.
 
“These policies are already happening with more to come. More jobs in building low carbon homes; abolishing single use plastics and creating a national forest for Wales. And after 2 years of the pandemic, a Covid recovery in our NHS and schools. Bold – yes. Radical – yes. For the people of Wales – always. It’s been the privilege of a lifetime to be chair of Welsh Labour.”
 
Notes for editors:
 
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest trade union with over 380,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades.
 
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion