CONGRATULATIONS

12 May 2026

UCAC congratulates Plaid Cymru on their victory in the Senedd Cymru elections. Given his background, we are confident that our new First Minister, Rhun ap Iorwerth, has awareness and understanding of the world of education. We look forward with anticipation to seeing Plaid Cymru tackle the major and real challenges facing education in Wales today. The Union has already expressed its frustration and disappointment about the state of education in recent years. UCAC’s manifesto for the Senedd elections states: ‘It is clear that the core issues for ensuring educational success have not been resolved over the [past] decades.’ We have heard a raft of promises with regards to improving teachers’ working conditions.  Our hope is that the new Government will offer us more than promises, and that we will see firm and effective action that delivers genuine and positive outcomes, for the benefit of our education workforce.

We welcome the importance accorded to education by Plaid Cymru and look forward to seeing the Party act immediately, in line with what they promised in the document ‘The First 100 Days’. Plaid Cymru noted in that document that ‘education will be at the very heart of a Plaid Cymru government’s ambition for Wales – the key to unlocking new and better opportunities, and building the more confident, innovative and productive nation we know Wales can be.’ In ‘The First 100 Days’, the Party set out the areas it wants to focus on in the early period – raising standards; a wrap-around approach to behaviour, attendance and wellbeing; a schools estate that’s fit for purpose; smartphones in schools; and a sustainable higher education sector. We are confident that we will be able to contribute to the initial steps in these areas, as well as sharing our wider concerns and aspirations with the new Minister for Education, once appointed. Our Annual Conference was held in mid-April and at that conference a number of motions were passed which, we hope, we will be able to share and discuss with the Minister.

This is a new and exciting period in Wales’s history. Amid the excitement and hope, we want to emphasise how important it is for the new Government to give serious consideration to the education sector, as it has promised. The new First Minister has already stated that he has ‘the desire to make a difference to what matters in people’s lives.’  We will be ready to work collaboratively, to challenge, and to hold him to accoun

MANIFESTO

October 2025 

In May 2026, we will be voting in the Welsh Senedd elections.  What message would you like to convey to politicians in Wales?  UCAC has prepared its manifesto in anticipation of the election. 

Our manifesto can be summarised under four points which, in Welsh, splle out our union’s acronym  - UCAC

Uchafbwynt Oriau Gwaith

Maximum Working Hours

We want to ensure that there are clear boundaries to educators’ working days

Cyllid Ysgolion

School Funding

We want fair funding for schools, in order to warrant enough staff and resources

Amodau Gwaith

Working Conditions

We want to ensure educators can focus on their core task – teaching children and young people

Cymraeg

The Welsh Language

We want to ensure that the Welsh language is accorded its deserved status and that there are realistic and valuable opportunities to promote and extend its use

In order to read a full version of the manifesto, please click on the image below.