It was good to be able to host a drop-in briefing session from the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) at the Assembly yesterday. PCS' aim was to draw attention to the pay inequalities which exist in the civil service, particuarly at the DVLA in Swansea. Women workers at the DVLA are earning around 16% less than their counterparts who carry out comparative work in England. With threats from the UK government to roll out regional pay, which is already being piloted in the Ministry of Justice, this will result in an even greater wealth gap between Wales and the rest of the UK.
Next week I will be supporting the PCS members' strike, which is primarily against the further rolling out of regional pay. I hope that Assembly Members from all parties will support this strike. If regional pay goes ahead we can look forward to greater levels of poverty in Wales. This is something that none of us can allow to happen- particularly in areas which qualify for Objective One funding from the EU.
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