Thanks to Plaid Cymru for bringing forward this debate on workers' rights. I'll speak proudly of the work carried out by this Welsh Government and other members of these benches in promoting those rights. For some of us, this is a real and personal issue, and in my case it was 30 years as a trade union official fighting for and defending workers' rights every single day. I remain a proud member of Unison and continue to support and admire the work that they do for public service workers across the UK and beyond. As the daughter of a Transport and General Workers Union shop steward it's clear to me that some things, like belonging to a trade union, just happen to be in the blood.

In the years that I spent as a trade union official I recall working alongside colleagues like Vaughan Gething and Mick Antoniw as employment lawyer partners in taking forward personal and collective cases that benefitted many thousands of people—benefits that were gained by enforcing their workplace rights. I also recall working closely with Eluned Morgan in the Lords on our opposition to the Trade Union Bill, seeking to defend workers in Wales against the Tories' race to the bottom, and the pride in seeing this Welsh Labour Government bring forward legislation to protect Wales from the attacks on trade union organisation in the public sector.