Cyflwynwyd yr ymateb hwn i'r Pwyllgor Plant, Pobl Ifanc ac Addysg ar Bil y Gymraeg ac Addysg (Cymru)

This response was submitted to the Children, Young People and Education Committee on the Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill

WLE 27
Ymateb gan: TUC Cymru
Response from: TUC Wales

TUC Cymru is the voice of Wales at work. We are creating a Wales where everyone has a voice through their union and an income they can build a life on. We believe that every worker has the right to be safe, valued and respected.

When workers act collectively, we have the power to create positive change in society. We bring workers together through 48 unions to fight for better jobs and a more equal and prosperous country.

TUC Cymru supports both the Cymraeg 2050 strategy and the aims of this Bill.  The Welsh language belongs to every person in Wales, and it is important that everyone has the opportunity to learn and to use it.  The education system has and will play a central role in reaching the goal of a million Welsh speakers. 

For the Bill’s ambitious aims to succeed we believe that certain conditions need to be in place.  These are:

1. Statutory provision for trade union engagement

2. Sufficient support to increase the workforce’s capacity

3. Sufficient support to prevent unreasonable demands on staff’s workload

4. Sufficient time and resource allocated to staff training

5. Sufficient funding to local education authorities, schools and the National Institute for Learning Welsh 

With reference to point 1, it is important that the Bill reflects the commitment made by the Senedd in the Social Partnership and Public Procurement Act to ensure the voice of trade unions are heard when significant changes are proposed to the workplace.  Trade union engagement can help ensure that all matters are taken into consideration when proposals are made.  This leads to better decisions, which have the support of the workforce.  Consequently, we believe that sections 26, 28 and 44 of the Bill require amendment to include reference to trade unions.

On point 2 (workforce capacity), we believe that it will be necessary to recruit and train many more workers so that there are enough Welsh speaking staff working in education.  Detailed plans need to be in place to achieve this.  Well-designed workforce planning strategies are required which have been developed with the agreement of the trade unions.  This will ensure that no staff are made redundant as an unintended consequence of the Bill’s aims.  This is a key demand from trade unions. 

On point 3 (staff workload) it is vital that the Bill’s provisions do not increase staff workloads to unreasonable levels.  Through their branch networks, unions find that many staff in education already face elevated levels of stress due to workload.  Therefore, we believe that the requirement for schools to undertake workload impact assessments in relation to the Bill’s provisions should be included.  The Welsh Government also needs to complete a workload impact assessment for this Bill to proceed, in order to mitigate additional workload.

Regarding point 4 (training), it should be ensured that staff are given paid release from their daily work to take part in training, should they choose to improve their level of Welsh to support Bill’s aims.  Furthermore, such training must be adequately funded by the Welsh government. 

The fifth point (funding) underpins all the above.  Without adequate funding from the Welsh government the Bill’s aims will not be realised. 

Particular attention needs to be given to the important matter of children with additional learning needs (ALN).  Currently provision in Welsh for children and young people in this cohort is not meeting demand.  Therefore, a plan is needed to address this.