Polisïau Craidd CULS Cymru

 

Mae toriadau sy’n deillio o lywodraethau Tori yn San Steffan wedi bwrw i lawr ar Gymru ers pell dros ddegawd. Yn ystod y cyfnod hwn mae llywodraethau Llafur Cymru wedi methu amddiffyn gweithwyr yng Nghymru rhag y toriadau hyn - ddweud y gwir maen nhw wedi cyflawni’r rhan fwyaf ohonynt. Mae’r toriadau hyn wedi dod i’r amlwg mewn ffordd greulon yn ystod yr argyfwng gyda’r cwtogiadau i nifer y gwelyau ysbyty GIG. Ers 2008 mae nifer y gwelyau wedi cael ei gwtogi gan 21% gyda’r canlyniad bod gan Gymru’r rhif isaf o welyau gofal dwys y person mewn Gorllewin Ewrop pan ddechreuodd yr argyfwng Covid -is hyd yn oed na GIG Lloegr dan y Torïaid.

Mae Covid wedi dangos sefyllfa ofnadwy ein gwasanaethau cyhoeddus – gyda diffyg ariannu’r GIG a’r Cynghorau – ond hefyd rhai o’r sawl peth gall Llywodraeth Cymru gwneud sy’n gallu gwella ein bywydau.

Er enghraifft, pam na allent  ymestyn y cynllun sydd wedi rhoi lloches i bobl ddigartref yn ystod y cyfnod cyntaf dan gyfyngiadau a gwahardd dadfeddiannu a gwneud y cynllun yn barhaol? Ac mae Llywodraeth Cymru wedi gwario £2bn ar gymorthdaliadau i fusnes yn ystod yr argyfwng Covid. Ond ddylai fod wedi sicrhau bod unrhyw cymorth gan y Llywodraeth i fusnesau unigol yn ddibynnol ar gadw swyddi a dilyn arferion cyflogaeth teg. Fel sicrhau nad yw gweithwyr yn cael eu gorfodi i weithio dan amodau Covid peryglus a dim yn gadael i gyflogwyr defnyddio diswyddo ac ail gyflogi i dorri cyflogau.

 

Esgus Llywodraeth Llafur Cymru am dorri gwasanaethau yn y gorffennol yw bod werth ei gyllideb wedi cael ei dorri gan Lywodraeth Tori'r DU. Ond ble oedd y frwydr yn erbyn y toriadau hyn? Mae sawl offeryn gal Llywodraeth Cymru defnyddio i amddiffyn gwasanaethau cyhoeddus Cymru rhag toriadau Ceidwadol - ceffyl da yw ewyllys!

Mae’n drist ond canlyniad yr argyfwng Covid bydd mwy o gynildeb Torïaidd yn do di Gymru. Byddent yn disgwyl i’r dosbarth gweithiol dalu am effeithiau economaidd yr argyfwng, yn union fel mae cymunedau dosbarth gweithiol wedi dioddef y gwaethaf o effeithiau’r feirws ei hun. Disgwylir bydd gwario ar y GIG yn 8% llai na lefel 2010-11 cyn dechrau’r toriadau. Mae mwy o angen nag erioed i gael Llywodraeth yng Nghymru sy’n cadw cefn pobl dosbarth gweithiol yng Nghymru rhag mwy o doriadau.

Yn hytrach na gweithredu’r toriadau yn oddefol gall gwrthod gweithredu cwtogiadau Ceidwadol a dechrau ymgyrch i orfodi Llywodraeth San Steffan i ddychwelyd yr arian mae wedi gwrthod rhoi ar gyfer gwasanaethau cyhoeddus. Yn ystod y 1980s gwrthododd Cyngor Dinas Lerpwl, oedd dan arweiniad sosialaidd, i dorri gwasanaethau ac yn lle hynny llwyddodd i orfodi Llywodraeth Thatcher i roi mwy o arian ar gyfer tai Cyngor, addysg a gwasanaethau eraill. Os gall un ddinas gorfodi’r ‘Iron Lady’ i dynnu’n ôl ym 1984 meddyliwch beth gall cenedl gyfan cyflawni yn erbyn Llywodraeth Tori wan a rhanedig.

Y tro nesaf mae’n derbyn cyllideb gan San Steffan sy’n mynnu toriadau ychwanegol, gall cydrannu ei  arian gydag awdurdodau lleol Cymru. Gall gwrthod gwneud mwy o doriadau ac yn lle hynny gwario beth mae pobl yn angen ar y GIG, addysg, gwasanaethau cymdeithasol a thai.

Gall defnyddio hynny i gael seibiant i fynd a’i ymgyrch i bob un o’n cymunedau sydd ag angen difrifol am y gwasanaethau hyn a’u cynnwys nhw mewn ymgyrch cenedlaethol i frwydro ar gyfer beth sydd angen. Dyle’r ymgyrch apelio at y cannoedd o filoedd o aelodau undebau llafur, a thraddodiadau gorau mudiad gweithwyr Cymru gydag ymgyrch llawn ynni o ralïau, gwrthdystiadau a streiciau i wrthsefyll cynildeb y Torïaid.

Mae’r sawl tro pedol gan Johnson a’i ganghellor, yn gwario biliynau pan maen nhw dan bwysau. Mae'n dangos os yw Llywodraeth Cymru yn defnyddio’r grymoedd sydd ganddi i wrthod gweithredu toriadau pellach ac yn hytrach  i wario beth sydd angen, gall orfodi’r Torïaid i dalu ac i ddychwelyd yr arian maen nhw wedi dwyn oddi wrth Gymru a’n gwasanaethau cyhoeddus.

Mae gan y Glymblaid Undebwyr Llafur a Sosialwyr (CULS) rhaglen o bolisïau ar gyfer etholiadau Senedd Cymru (gweler isod) a all gwneud gwahaniaeth sylweddol. Gall hyd yn oed ond un AS yn sefyll yn gadarn rhoi hyder i undebwyr llafur ac ymgyrchwyr yn y gymuned i frwydro, os ydyn nhw’n defnyddio Siambr y Senedd i apelio at y rhai tu allan.

Gall Aelodau Sosialaidd o’r Senedd ymuno â’r bobl yn brwydro yn erbyn newid hinsawdd, o blaid y mudiad Black Lives Matter, a’r ymgyrchoedd yn erbyn ymosodiadau ar  hawliau a gwasanaethau menywod. Byddent yng nghanol unrhyw frwydr sy’n gam yn nes at gymdeithas ble gall pobl mwynhau bywyd i’r eithaf heb ofni diweithdra, bod yn ddigartref, tlodi ac anffafriaeth.

Mae’n rhaid i bob darpar ymgeisydd Seneddol o leiaf cytuno gyda’r rhaglen isod i sefyll dan enw CULS yn etholiad 2021 - ond nid yw’n cyfyngu ar y pynciau gall ymgeiswyr codi.

Gall pob undebwr llafur, ymgyrchydd yn erbyn y toriadau, ymgyrchydd yn y gymuned a phawb sydd eisiau gweld dewis arall yn hytrach na gwleidyddion cynildeb bod yn ymgeisydd CULS.

Ond dyle pleidleiswyr gwybod bydd unrhyw Aelod o’r Senedd sy’n  cael ei ethol dan faner CULS yn brwydro dros:

 

·        - Gwrthwynebu’r holl doriadau i wasanaethau cyhoeddus, swyddi, cyflogau ac amodau. Rydym yn gwrthod yr honiad bod ‘rhai toriadau’ i’n gwasanaethau yn angenrheidiol neu fod yr argyfwng Covid yn esgus dros gynildeb.

·        - Cefnogi pob brwydr gweithwyr yn erbyn polisïau’r Llywodraeth yn gorfodi pobl gyffredin i dalu am yr argyfwng.

·        - Ymgyrch dosbarth gweithiol unedig yn erbyn hiliaeth a phob math o ormes.

·        - Gwrthdroi’r toriadau i’r GIG.

·       -  Ail-wladoli trafnidiaeth gyhoeddus, yn cynnwys y rheilffyrdd yn barhaol. O blaid trefn trafnidiaeth gyhoeddus wedi ei integreiddio.

·        - Prydau ysgol yn rhad ac am ddim ar gyfer pob plenty ysgol yng Nghymru.

·        - Dros addysg yn rhad ac am ddim - dileu ffioedd addysg.

·       -  Gwrthwynebu cynyddu lefelau treth yr incwm, Treth Cyngor, rhent a thaliadau am wasanaeth ar gyfer pobl dosbarth gweithiol i lenwi’r bwlch achoswyd gan gwtogiadau ariannol. Mynnu bod Llywodraeth San Steffan yn gwrthdroi’r toriadau mewn cyllid mae wedi gosod.

·       -  Defnyddio pwerau Llywodraeth Cymru i ddechrau rhaglen fawr o adeiladu tai Cyngor fforddiadwy ‘gwyrdd’ i daclo’r argyfwng tai. Dros reolaeth ar rent ac atal troi pobl allan o’u cartrefi.

·      -  Pleidleisio yn erbyn rhoi contractau tu allan i’r gwasanaethau cyhoeddus ac yn erbyn preifateiddio swyddi a gwasanaethau sector cyhoeddus. Yn erbyn trosglwyddo gwasanaethau Cyngor i ‘fentrau cymdeithasol’ neu gwmni rheolaeth ‘hyd fraich’ sy’n gamau cyntaf i breifateiddio. Dod â phob gwasanaeth yn ôl dan reolaeth gyhoeddus.

·      -  Brwydro dros yr hawl i bobl Cymru penderfynu dyfodol Cymru drostynt eu hunain.

Fight Attempts to Restrict our Democratic Rights

Dear Mark Drakeford

I am writing as secretary of the Wales steering committee of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC). TUSC is a registered political party and will be standing candidates in the forthcoming elections to the Senedd on 6th May.

We note the current legal prohibition on door to door leafletting for the election and wish to lodge our protest at what we consider to be an attack on a fundamental democratic right, namely the right of political parties to to campaign and to disseminate its policies.

We are fully aware of the need to restrict the spread of Coronavirus, but we note that leafletting by commercial organisations such as Royal Mail and others is permitted under current rules. It therefore appears that for some reason leafletting by volunteers is deemed to be unsafe whereas the same activity on a commercial basis is deemed to be acceptable. A hand pushing a leaflet through a door carries exactly the same risk whether it belongs to a volunteer or a paid worker.

This state of affairs is clearly discriminatory against smaller parties who do not have the financial resources to take advantage of commercial leafletting or advertising, but rely on volunteers. This could be seen as an attempt by Welsh Government to limit the effectiveness of opposition parties and to silence criticism.

We do not want to be forced into a position where we have to break the law in order to defend a democratic right, but we shall not be deterred from doing so if necessary.

Dave Warren

S
ecretary TUSC Wales Steering Committee

TUSC Adopts Core Policies for Senedd Elections in Wales

At a meeting of the TUSC Wales Steering Committee, the Cuts to public services emanating from Tory governments in Westminster have rained down on Wales for over a decade. The Welsh Labour governments in that period have failed to protect working people in Wales from those cuts - in fact, they have implemented most of them. These cuts have been most cruelly exposed in this Covid crisis by the cuts to NHS hospital beds. The number of beds since 2008 have been cut by 21% which has meant that Wales entered the Covid crisis with the lowest number of intensive care beds per person in western Europe – lower even than NHS England under the Tories.

Covid has revealed both the drastic situation our local public services are in - with the NHS and councils massively underfunded - but also some of the many things the Welsh government has the power to do that could improve our lives.

For example, why not extend the scheme that housed the homeless during the first lockdown and banned evictions and make it permanent? And the Welsh government has spent £2 billion in grants to business during the Covid crisis. But it should have ensured that any government aid to individual businesses is dependent on retaining jobs and pursuing ethical employment practices – ensuring workers are not forced to work in unsafe Covid conditions; not using fire and rehire to drive down wages.

The Welsh Labour government’s defence for cutting services in the past is that it’s funding in real terms has been cut by the UK Tory government. But where has there been the fight against these cuts? In fact, there are a whole number of levers that the Welsh government can use to protect Welsh public services from Tory cuts – where there is a will there is a way!

Sadly, the Covid crisis means that more Tory austerity will be on its way to Wales – the working class will be expected to foot the bill for the economic effects of the crisis, just as working class communities suffered the worst from the effects of the virus itself. It is expected that NHS spending will be 8% less than the level in 2010-11 before the cuts began. Now more than ever we need a Welsh government that will stand up for working people in Wales against more cuts.

Instead of passively implementing the cuts it can refuse to carry out Tory cuts and begin a mass campaign to force the Westminster government to return the funds denied to public services. In the 1980s Liverpool City Council with a socialist leadership refused to cut back services and instead successfully demanded extra funds from the Thatcher government to expand council housing, education and other services. If one city could force the ‘iron lady’ to back down in 1984 imagine what an entire nation could achieve against a weak and divided Tory government.

The next time it receives a budget from Westminster that demands further cuts it can pool its reserves with Welsh local authorities amounting to £B, refuse to implement further cuts and instead spend what working people in Wales need on the NHS, education, social services, housing.

It can use this breathing space to take its campaign to all our communities desperate for these services and mobilise them in a national campaign to fight for what we need. The campaign should draw on the hundreds of thousands of trade union members and the best traditions of the Welsh workers’ movement with a dynamic campaign of workplace rallies, demonstrations and strikes to resist Tory austerity.

The multiple U-turns made by Johnson and his chancellor, spending billions when the pressure is on them, show that if the Welsh government used the powers it has to refuse to implement any more cuts and spend what is necessary instead, the Tories could be made to pay up and return the cash they have stolen from Wales and our public services.

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) has a policy platform for Welsh parliament elections (see below) which could make a difference. Even one MS taking a stand, if they used their position in the Senedd chamber to appeal to those outside, could give confidence to local trade unionists and community campaigners to fight. Socialist MSs would link up with those taking action against climate change, the Black Lives Matter movement, and campaigns against attacks on women's rights and services. They would be at the heart of any struggle that is a step towards a society in which
people can enjoy life to its fullest without the fear of unemployment, homelessness, poverty and discrimination.

Agreement with the platform below is the minimum basis on which any prospective Senedd candidate can stand under the TUSC name in the 2021 election - but it is a minimum, not a limit to the issues that candidates will raise. Every trade unionist, anti-cuts campaigner, community activist and all those who want to see an alternative to austerity politicians can become a TUSC candidate. But voters should know that any Member of the Senedd elected under the TUSC banner will fight for:

 Opposition to all cuts and closures to public services, jobs, pay and conditions. We reject the claim that some cuts are necessary to our services or that the Covid crisis is a reason for austerity.

 Support all workers' struggles against government policies making ordinary people pay for the crisis.

 A united working class struggle against racism and all forms of oppression.

 Reverse cuts to the NHS

 The permanent renationalisation of public transport including the rail infrastructure and for an integrated public transport system

 Free school meals for all school-aged children in Wales

 For free education – scrap tuition fees

 Reject income tax, council tax, rent and service charge increases for working class people to make up for cuts in funding and demand the UK government restores the cuts in funding it has imposed.

 Use Welsh government’s powers to begin a mass building programme of eco-friendly affordable council homes to tackle the housing crisis. For rent controls and end to evictions.

 Vote against the outsourcing, privatisation of public sector jobs and services, or the transfer of council services to"social enterprises" or "arms-length" management organisations, which are first steps to privatisation. Bring all services back in-house.

 For the right of national self-determination for Wales