Black activist training

The Wales TUC is planning to run a second Black Activist Development Programme (BADP) in April, following what it saw as a successful pilot run last year.

It launched the BADP in the spring of 2023 as part of its support for the Welsh government’s Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan. It aims to increase the representation of people from ethnic minority backgrounds in leadership and senior roles.

Ethnic minority workers in Wales are more likely to be in insecure employment and low-paid jobs than White workers and to experience bullying and discrimination.

Wales TUC general secretary Shavanah Taj said: “Black and ethnic minority workers in Wales have been sidelined in their workplaces, in political life and – shamefully – within the trade union movement. We simply won’t allow that to continue.”

The pilot BADP participants were union members from a Black, Asian and minority ethnic background, all of whom happened to be women. The programme covered topics ranging from trade union and political structures, the role of union reps, campaigning, negotiation, confidence building, communication, equalities and workplace discrimination.