THE threat of homelessness, hunger and in-work poverty is now tragically an everyday reality for public service workers and their families in Wales feeling the full force of the cost-of-living crisis.

Thousands of public service workers which Unison represents across all public services in Wales are feeling undervalued, underpaid and overwhelmed.

Today we are uniting all our branches in a major rally in the centre of Cardiff to say enough is enough.

Wales TUC general secretary Shavannah Taj, Beth Winter MP for Cynon Valley, Unison vice-president Libby Nolan and Brendan Kelly of the RMT are among key speakers uniting with us to address the rally.

Today’s event will also be highlighting the results of a major Unison Wales survey in which we asked our members to tell us exactly how the cost-of-living crisis is affecting them.

Public-sector workers across Wales who took part in our survey told us they are losing sleep as a result of worry over family finances brought on by the crisis while others are struggling with their mental health.

The survey has also revealed Unison members have been unable to afford vital maintenance to their vehicles which are essential for travelling to work. Others have been forced to sell their cars to make ends meet.

Unison has heard from members who are facing the very real prospect of losing their home in the face of rising bills and stagnant low wages.

Workers across all public services have told us they are, in some cases, having to re-mortgage their homes or move house altogether as they can no longer afford to pay their bills.

Unison is standing in solidarity with our members facing some of the toughest times in living memory.

A key example of this is the sponsorship we are providing to charities in South Wales working with primary schools to set up washing machines for parents who can no longer afford washing powder or the energy bills required to power their own machines at home to wash their children’s school uniforms.

Unison campaigns for a comprehensive welfare state and industrial strategy which looks after its citizens, ends in-work poverty and means people don’t have to rely on foodbanks but we also recognise the appalling extent of the current crisis and we stand in solidarity with those who cannot afford to put food on the table.

This is why our branches across Wales have been generously supporting our There For You Unison welfare fund which is designed to provide a confidential advice and support service for members and their dependants.

This is why a collection for the Cardiff Food Bank will be made at today’s rally. Foodbanks are becoming the norm, not the exception while the Tory government is unashamedly, in fact proudly, handing over taxpayers’ money to its rich friends.

Kwarteng’s attempted tax cuts would have seen the wealthiest £55,000 better off for every million pounds they earn, an insult too far that provoked such resistance he has already had to back down. In contrast, someone on £20,000 a year – the salary for many health, local government and care staff – can expect to be better off by the grand sum of £157 a year, or just £3 a week.

This Westminster government has declared war on all of us, denouncing trade unions as militant. But there is nothing militant about standing up to protect our members’ pay, to protect our families and communities.

Communities aren’t crying out for more bankers, they’re crying out for care workers, a functioning well funded NHS, a good education and a decent life for all.

We are living under a Tory government whose “mini” budget overtly benefits the richest members of society at the same time as undermining the needs of the vast majority of people.

There is now a stark division between them and us and a pressing need for a broader trade union and labour movement-led socialist response.

This is why in Wales, we welcome the Welsh government’s commitment to the Real Living Wage for care workers but this does not go far enough.

Unison is campaigning for a publicly provided National Care Service to protect the wages and terms and conditions of social care workers who provide a vital service for the most vulnerable people in Wales.

We are also calling on health workers across Wales to back our ballot for industrial action following the latest derisory NHS Pay Review Body award imposed on our members by Welsh government.

Through October and November, Unison will be balloting hundreds of thousands of NHS workers. The mood is different now. Workers have had enough. Nurses, paramedics, healthcare assistants, cleaners and porters are saying the service is on its knees.

Taking strike action is the only option our members have to improve it. When public-sector employees take strike action, it’s because they have been left with no alternative. It’s a hard industrial decision, where members lose money. It is not an action that is taken lightly.

This action is about dedicated and experienced workers, taking a stand about the future of the public services they provide.

It’s never been more important than it is now for trade unions to unite and stand together. To co-ordinate our legitimate industrial disputes and bring maximum pressure on this parasitic Tory government.

The next general election could be sooner than we think.  And millions of people are relying on us to get the Tories out of Westminster.

Together we rise in Unison , to begin this fightback.