WELSH trade unionists marked Black History Month today with a call to turn words into action.

TUC Cymru general secretary Shavanah Taj said: “Wales has made progress — but the fight against racism is far from over.”

Trade unionists, community leaders and politicians gathered at the Senedd for the union movement’s annual Black History Month event.

While the gathering primarily honoured achievements by black workers and trade unionists across Wales, demands were also raised for renewed action delivering racial justice in workplaces and communities.

“This event is a celebration of the incredible contribution of black workers in Wales — but it is also a reminder that our work is far from done,” Ms Taj said.

The trade union federation leader told the audience, which included schoolchildren, that she had been in Caerphilly that morning, campaigning in the by-election.

“I’m worried about the levels of misinformation we hear about people arriving in this country on boats,” Ms Taj told her young audience.

“Misinformation is reaching into our workplaces and schools and we all have to work together to combat it.”

Jamie Morris, from the Royal College of Midwives, spoke about her experience as a black woman giving birth where her voice was ignored.

She said: “My experience made me feel ignored and invisible, as though my pain was imagined.

“I started my journey as a midwife and union activist to help make maternity care better for black women and more inclusive.

“Black history month is about building better, not just looking back.”

The event followed a recent conference called by the trade union movement to tackle the rise of the far right in Wales and fascist demonstrations in the country.