PEMBROKESHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL is working towards an “Anti-Racist Pembrokeshire County Council Action Plan.” Spearheaded by Cllr Thomas Tudor of the Labour Group and supported by Haverfordwest Town Councillor Cllr Randell Izaiah Thomas-Turner, the plan was passionately discussed and approved at the Full Council meeting on May 9, 2024.

The action plan is inspired by the recently published Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan, which aims to establish Wales as an anti-racist nation by 2030. The plan’s primary goal is to create substantial changes in the lives of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic people in Wales. Speaking on this development, Cllr Thomas Tudor expressed his honour in presenting the Labour Group’s notice of motion, emphasising the urgency of fostering an inclusive community that values diversity and promotes equality.

“The Labour Group calls on Pembrokeshire County Council to recognise the importance of fostering an inclusive and anti-racist community that values diversity and promotes equality,” Cllr Tudor stated. “Recent events have highlighted the need for proactive measures to address racism and ensure that our community remains a welcoming and safe space for all residents.”

Key Measures in the Action Plan

The Anti-Racist Pembrokeshire County Council Action Plan outlines several critical measures to combat racism and promote inclusivity:

1. Commitment to Anti-Racism: The council will reaffirm its dedication to promoting anti-racism and fostering an inclusive environment within Pembrokeshire and Wales.
2. Eliminating Discrimination: Efforts will be made to eradicate racial discrimination and prejudice both within the council’s operations and the wider community.
3. Collaborative Initiatives: The council will work with local organisations, community leaders, and residents to develop and implement anti-racist initiatives and programmes.
4. Policy Review and Strengthening: Existing policies will be reviewed and strengthened to ensure inclusivity and address systemic issues contributing to racial disparities.
5. Anti-Racism Training: Staff, elected officials, and community leaders will receive anti-racism training to raise awareness and promote cultural competence.
6. Dedicated Working Group: A working group will be established to monitor and address racism-related issues, providing regular updates to the council.
7. Community Engagement: The council commits to engaging with the community, listening to the experiences and concerns of residents affected by racism, and taking appropriate actions.
8. Celebrating Diversity: Diversity will be celebrated through events, education, and community engagement initiatives.

Support and Gratitude

Cllr Tudor extended his gratitude to those who assisted in crafting the motion, particularly acknowledging the contributions of Cllr Randell Izaiah Thomas-Turner and Professor Uzo Iwobi CBE, Chief Executive of the Race Council Cymru. Their support and dedication have been instrumental in bringing this action plan to fruition.

Cllr Thomas-Turner echoed this sentiment in his statement, expressing his gratitude for being involved in promoting the Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan within Pembrokeshire County Council. “It is great to know that we live in a county that is committed to ensuring it is anti-racist,” he said. “I am humbled and extremely grateful to Thomas Baden Tudor and Professor Uzo Iwobi for their assistance and expertise in putting together this plan.”

The Anti-Racist Pembrokeshire County Council Action Plan signifies a strong commitment to building a more inclusive and anti-racist community. By implementing these measures, Pembrokeshire County Council aims to foster understanding, unity, and equality for all residents, ensuring that the community remains a welcoming and safe space for individuals of all backgrounds.

Signatories: Cllr Thomas Tudor, Cllr Guy Woodham, Cllr Simon Hancock, Cllr Tony Wilcox, Cllr Maureen Bowen, Cllr Paul Miller, Cllr Jordan Ryan, Cllr Marc Tierney, Cllr Nicola Gwynn, Cllr Joshua Beynon.

UNITE, the UK’s leading union, says it is preparing to escalate industrial action at Port Talbot and Llanwern after Tata showed its true colours and threatened to cut redundancy pay in response to the announcement earlier this week that Unite members will begin an overtime ban and work to rule later this month.

In a further significant threat Tata has told workers that next month’s general election will not affect it plans to close its blast furnaces. It said: “Neither the general election nor its outcome has any impact on the timings or our decision to proceed with the winding down of our heavy-end operations (blast furnaces).” In the same communication the company has threatened “to bring forward” the closure of blast furnaces.

The company’s statement on its closure plans is a direct rebuff to the Labour Party, which is committed to creating a £3 billion investment steel fund to preserve steel making in the UK. On Thursday when launching Labour’s campaign in Wales, Labour leader Keir Starmer said on Tata: “I will fight for every single job and fight for the future of steel in Wales.”

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Unite and its members will not tolerate Tata’s bully boy tactics and neither should Labour. The union is now preparing to escalate industrial action in direct response to the company’s threats.

“The company is trying to hold the country to ransom, while needlessly throw thousands of workers on the scrapheap. If Tata is not prepared to do the right thing, then an incoming Labour government must ensure it does.

“Tata’s actions show the fundamental problem with private multinational companies owning the UK’s foundation industries. It has no concern for the long-term economic damage and harm its action will cause in the UK.”

The redundancy pay cut threat was part of an extraordinary 900 plus word communication to Tata workers sent by chief executive officer Rajesh Nair that was sent late on Friday evening (31 May) to the company’s workforce

Unite believes that the threat of speeding up the closure of the blast furnaces is the latest part of Tata’s plans to turn Port Talbot into a satellite site for at least the next five years, while it imports hot rolled coil and slab steel, from India and its other overseas operations and badges it as produced in the UK.

Unite secretary for Wales Peter Hughes said: “Workers will not be blackmailed. Unite never takes a backward step in supporting our members in their fight to preserve their jobs pay and conditions and the workers at Tata have the union’s complete support.”

FULL fibre heading to nearly 6,500 homes and businesses – from St Davids to Saundersfoot and Newport to Letterston

Full fibre broadband is heading to a further 16 Welsh city’s, towns and villages, as part of a huge broadband upgrade by Openreach.

People living in St Davids, Saundersfoot, Newport and Letterston are among the communities that are next in line for full fibre. In total more than 23,000 additional properties across Wales are set benefit from Openreach’s latest investment.

They join the nearly 900,000 homes and businesses across Wales that already have access to the UK’s most reliable broadband technology, thanks to Openreach’s work.

Across the UK, the company has published updated plans to build full fibre broadband to a record 517 more locations – covering a further 2.7 million homes and businesses.

Martin Williams, Openreach partnership director for Wales, said: “This is a huge infrastructure success story across Wales. No company is building faster or further in Europe, that we’re aware of.

“We won’t be stopping either. We plan to build even further across the region, to more cities and towns, and our most rural communities.

“And our engineers, of which more than 2,200 live in Wales, are doing this at a rapid pace – despite this being a hugely complex engineering project.

“Our fibre checker has the latest information about our work in your area. It’s also worth noting that upgrades aren’t automatic. Once full fibre is available where you live, you’ll need to place an order to get connected and we’ll do the rest!

“Openreach’s network offers the widest choice of providers such as BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Vodafone and Zen – which means people have lots of choice and can get a great deal.”

The work is all part of Openreach’s £15 billion project to upgrade the UK’s broadband infrastructure – making gigabit-capable technology available to 25 million homes and businesses by the end of 2026, including 6.2 million in harder to reach more remote and rural areas.

More than 4.7 million homes and businesses across the UK have already upgraded to Full Fibre and demand continues to flow, with more than 50,000 orders being placed each week.

Openreach has also refreshed its online map and postcode checker to give a clearer, regularly updated view of its plans and progress between now and 2026.

The map now shows the levels of current and future expected full fibre coverage as of today, taking data from all of its build programmes, whilst the postcode checker continues to offer the most personalised view of the connectivity available to an individual home or business.

Further updates will be provided as any additional locations are added in future.