Labour’s latest Insult to Welsh Workers

Department of Constitutional Affairs proposals to introduce a differentional regional pay system for court workers has very worrying consequences not only for Welsh public sector workers but for the Welsh economy as a whole.

Preserving uniformity of public sector pay is a principle that must be protected at all costs. Not only is it immoral for the State to pay workers from one part of the UK less for doing the same job, but as the PCS points out it would exacerbate the north – south economic divide.

Wales is particularly at risk as firstly we have a higher proportion of public sector jobs as a percentage of our economic make up than other parts of the UK. And also invariably Welsh workers would be at the bottom of the pay scale.

This Chancellor is responsible for core economic and fiscal policies which have exacerbated the regional wealth inequalities. Yet again we witness how Wales comes bottom of Labour’s priorities.

Civil Service Job Cuts

The PCS have issued a damning press notice today of the effect of the Chancellors civil service job cull on Wales. The PCS estimates that a third of all civil service jobs in Wales will be lost by 2011. They calculate that this equates to a combined total of 10,000. In a country with a higher proportion of public sector jobs, the economic effects are going to be devastating. The PCS calculate over £300m per annum to the Welsh economy.

The whole plan was put in place by the Chancellor during the last Comprehensive Spending Review in his continued attempt to out tory the Tories. Political positioning is everything to New Labour, and this reckless policy shows they don’t give a damn about public sector workers, service user or local communities. It’s centralisation and rationalisation at its worse.

What sickens me the most is the sight of hypocritical New Labour AMs and candidates in Wales appearing on picket lines the length and breadth of our country feigning solidarity. New Labour in Wales seem quite happy to talk up their partnership with their London bosses when it suits them, then distance themselves from anything unpopular. Well they can’t have it both ways.

Wales deserves better than politicians from London based parties whose first instinct is to kowtow to their London bosses.

Labour Duplicity

Yet again we witness the surreal ability of Labour politicians to distance themselves from their own party’s policies. I am referring to yesterday’s PCS strike over Gordon Browns savage public sector cuts. Splashed across the Western Mail today is Assembly Minister Sue Essex proclaiming total support for the strikers against her own party’s policies. When you are a branch of a London based party, its disingenuous to distance yourself from the policies of your paymasters.

The problem for Rhodri Morgan is that he has come out in support of an early Gordon Brown succession. He must be the only person who actually believes that good old Gordon is going to turn the clock back when he gets to 10 Downing Street and bring in a new socialist dawn. In case Rhodri hasn’t noticed, Gordon is the ideological Godfather of the whole New Labour domestic project. When his Ministers are crying crocodile tears over public sector job cuts, they are directly opposing Gordon Brown’s centralisation and privatisation agenda. So as WAG apparently now oppose Gordon’s job cuts plan, does that mean that they no longer support the succession? Clearly if there is such fundamental opposition to a core plank of Brownism (the Scottish version of Thatcherism) it would be insincere not to oppose his leadership bid.

At the end of the day there comes a point when politicians have to have some remnants of political coherence to their arguments. We are now led to believe that Labour AMs oppose the policies that Labour MPs based in Wales voted through in supporting the last Comprehensive Spending Review. They can’t have it both ways.


Will the real Labour in Wales please stand up?