FIRST Minister Carwyn Jones has contrasted the “genuine social partnership” between his government and trade unions in Wales with the attacks suffered by workers in England under the Tories.

Earning a standing ovation for his final first ministerial address to Wales TUC congress before stepping down later this year, Mr Jones said today that, when the UK government ended NHS student bursaries, his administration had consulted health unions and kept them.

The same applied to the education maintenance allowance (EMA), which was scrapped in England but retained in Wales after discussions with the National Union of Students.

And when the Tories decided to dilute workers’ rights, his government acted to protect them.

“I’m proud we were able to do that for workers in Wales,” the First Minister declared.

Mr Jones noted that this year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the NHS, pointing out that, having survived a difficult birth, “I owe literally my existence and my life to the National Health Service.”

He said that the principles behind the NHS, “fairness, social justice and equality, say something about us as a nation.”

Referring to his government’s award of the £5 billion franchise for Welsh railways and the South Wales Metro to a consortium of French company Keolis and Spanish-owned Amey, Mr Jones referred to Labour’s preference for public ownership by saying he was “not going to pretend it was our first choice.”

However, he announced proudly that the contract included a commitment to have a guard on every train in Wales.

Mr Jones again highlighted different priorities adopted by Westminster and Cardiff Bay over problems faced by the steel industry when the Port Talbot plant was under threat.

He said his government’s prompt action in pledging £60 million in assistance had preserved steel jobs and production and insisted it was time for the UK government to do its bit.

“As we mark the 150th anniversary of the TUC this year, I’m proud that in Wales we have a government that works with and not against its trade union partners,” he stressed.

“In Wales, we have a government willing to stand up for working people.”