Hundreds demonstrate against cost-of-living crisis in Aberdare

Around 200 Cynon Valley residents descended on Cynon Linc in Aberdare this weekend to protest the cost-of-living crisis.

The rally was organised by local MP Beth Winter and included speeches from Union Leaders Mark Serwotka and Shavanah Taj, as well as Council Leader Andrew Morgan, CEO of Age Connects Morgannwg Rachel Rowlands and Jason Richards from RCT Trades Council.

PCS General Secretary Mark Serwotka, who is from Aberdare, also railed against the record of the Conservative Governments over the last 12 years. “Frankly, I’ve met Liz Truss, I’ve met Rishi Sunak, unfortunately I’ve met Boris Johnson. Let me tell you they do not care one jot about any person in this room, about this community, about places like Wales”.

Serwotka also revealed that 30 Trades Union leaders will be attending an unprecedented meeting next week to discuss co-ordinating industrial action in the months ahead.

General Secretary of the TUC in Wales Shavanah Taj received rapturous applause when she called for the nationalisation of public services, and a £15 an hour minimum wage “not tomorrow, now!”

Cllr Morgan spoke about the scale of the challenge faced by local authorities, with forecast overspends of £21million this year and £36million next year, on the back of 12 years of austerity. “Once you’ve closed a library, once you’ve shut off a streetlight, once you’ve cut services, you can’t go back and cut them again, they’re not there.”

Rowlands spoke about the growing role of the voluntary sector in supporting people throughout the cost-of-living crisis. She also spoke about the difficulty many older people have in accessing support they are entitled to and called for a review of the adequacy of the state pension, saying “it really isn’t enough”.

Richards spoke about the current CWU dispute with Royal Mail, who have spent £6 million on handing out bonuses to strikebreaking workers while insisting there is not money for a defibrillator at the Aberdare delivery office.

Winter closed the event, describing it as “the start of us building our grassroots movement here in Cynon Valley” and calling for the five demands on her cost-of-living petition, including inflation proofed rises in pay, benefits and pensions, price controls on essential goods wealth taxes and fair funding for Wales.