COVID EVIDENCE: Careworkers in Swansea were urged today to provide evidence for the UK Covid Inquiry.

Unison Cymru Wales is gathering evidence for the inquiry and is giving Welsh care workers the opportunity to anonymously share their experiences of working on the Covid front line.

Care worker Pat Jones said: “It’s so important that their stories are told and lessons are learned.”

The union is running the event tomorrow at its Swansea office.

CLEAN COAL: A petition to the Welsh government and Merthyr County Borough Council to force a mining company to clean up its open-cast coalmine reached over 20,000 signatures today.

The petition is to ensure Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd delivers on its original restoration plan to restore the environment after the closure of the Ffos-y-fran coalmine last November after 15 years of operation.

The petition can be signed at https://bit.ly/PitPetition.

SCHOOL FUNDING: Teachers in Newport have called on the council to reverse planned cuts to the education budget.

NASUWT Cymru said the city council has underfunded schools for a number of years, with waves of redundancies leaving schools with poor pupil-teacher ratios.

The union says learners are being taught by unqualified teachers or cover supervisors for part of their education.

DOCTORS’ STRIKE: BMA Cymru Wales has announced new strike dates as part of its dispute with the Welsh government over pay.  

Junior doctors will strike for 72 hours from February 21 and 96 hours from March 25. The new rounds of strikes follow a 72-hour walkout in January.