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From The Socialist newspaper, 20 November 2019
Carmarthenshire union demands no-cuts budget
Trade unionists in Carmarthenshire lobbying the council for a no-cuts budget in 2014, photo Scott Jones (Click to enlarge)
Mark Evans, branch secretary, Carmarthenshire Unison (personal capacity)
Trade unionists and socialists in Carmarthenshire, southwest Wales, have demanded the county's Plaid Cymru council implement a no-cuts budget.
The Carmarthenshire branch of local government union Unison, supported by Socialist Party and anti-cuts campaigners, lobbied councillors on 13 November.
We called on them to stop acting in the interests of the super-rich by implementing the devastating Tory cuts.
A prominent Plaid executive member told Unison members that Plaid didn't want to make cuts. He pointed the finger at the Tories in Westminster and the Labour-led Welsh Assembly.
But he forgot to mention that until recently, Plaid Cymru has voted for the budget cuts of the Labour-led Welsh government.
It's true that cuts originate with the Tory government and are passed on by the Welsh Labour government. But they have not mounted any campaign to oppose either!
Neither the Welsh Assembly, nor local councils, have taken any responsibility for practically stopping the cuts and mobilising for the needed funds.
Little wonder that over 20% of local government jobs in Carmarthenshire, and Wales as a whole, have gone.
Carmarthenshire Unison has a proud record of fighting cuts. We have produced no-cuts budget plans that we have urged Plaid and the previous Labour administration to implement.
We lobbied Plaid councillors, calling on them to stop wringing their hands and stand up for council services by using reserves and borrowing powers.
This would win big support and buy the council time to build a campaign of resistance, calling on trade unions, the local community and other councils for support.
We need a Corbyn-led government that ends austerity and reimburses councils for all the cuts. But in the meantime, with both Labour and the Tories promising more spending, there is no excuse for any council to make more cuts.
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In The Socialist 20 November 2019:
What we think
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CWU - ground laid for an almighty struggle
Climate change
Major funding for flood risk management needed
NHS
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Violence against women
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Socialist Party news and analysis
Broadband: privatisation has failed to deliver, time for a socialist plan
Bolton university fire: government inaction puts safety at risk
Wages flatline, while shareholders profit
Workplace news and analysis
UCU pay and pension strike: university staff have had enough
West Midlands Trains: guards strike to defend safety-critical role
PCS union: elect Marion Lloyd!
Cleaners strike over low pay at Haringey secondary school
Bradford library and museum strikers enter third round of strike action
Long hours in the world of security
NEU members' sixth-form walkouts
Socialist Party reports and campaigns
Secret police infiltration of workers' movement exposed
150 protest against Leicester hospital downgrading attack
Carmarthenshire union demands no-cuts budget
Swansea: students protest against Hillary Clinton hypocrisy
Keep the National Poetry Library free
Readers' opinion
International socialist news and analysis
Amazon bosses defeated in Seattle - Kshama Sawant reelected
Chile revolt continues: read eyewitness report
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