EVERYONE needs food to survive, so for many in the food industry, it was work as normal. 

Of course, what is normal at this time and for many, it was stay at home safe, or go to work and hope you don’t catch Covid. 

Food workers, like many other key workers, are paid on or around the minimum wage, although deftly changed by the Tories to a living wage. 

The pandemic has brought many issues to the surface and in the public domain, where previously they were hidden. 

So what does the future hold as Wales goes to the ballot box this week to elect the next Senedd members? 

The BFAWU believes the following points need to be raised and call upon all candidates to raise these issues. 

• The right to food
• Dignity and respect at work 
• An end to zero-hours contracts
• A minimum wage of £10 per hour

The BFAWU believes that everyone should have the right to food and is calling for a law to make this possible. 

Far too many on lower incomes are having to choose between food and other essentials, such as heating. 

The BFAWU survey of its members has highlighted many issues and over 7 per cent of those taking part have admitted to relying on foodbanks. 

This is unacceptable in the sixth-largest economy in the world, where the hourly rate is not enough to sustain living. 

For some, the choice between food on the table or heating the home is a difficult choice to make. 

Child poverty is on the increase and this trend needs to be reversed. If members of the Senedd supported this, then this could pave the way to eradicate food poverty. 

Many members in the hospitality and tourism industry, retail and fast-food establishments have complained that their employer fails to support them from abuse by customers. 

Some companies have the attitude that the customer is always right and rather than support the employee, often side with the customer — giving the customer the opportunity to further abuse the employee on future visits. 

This is unacceptable an attitude that needs to be eradicated. There are also problems in the way in which employees are treated by their employers. 

Many members on zero-hours contracts have had hours cancelled or not allocated if they raise an issue with their employer. 

Zero-hours contracts applied correctly can aid an employee who might not be able to have continuous regular hours which suit both the employer and employee relationship. 

However, all too often the employer uses the zero-hours contract in a negative way. 

The relationship should be an equal partnership shaped on dignity and respect, not on dictatorship by the employer who uses it as a weapon to control the employee. 

We have heard on numerous occasions where a fast-food company has phoned a few employees telling them to work, only to be turned away as someone else has turned up first. 

The BFAWU has campaigned for a fair and decent wage for many years and yet many of our members work on or close to the living wage. 

The campaign for £10 per hour was out of the necessity for members to be able to live, without applying for means-tested benefits or choosing between what necessities they need that  week. 

The people of Wales are a proud nation, built on values that defined us over many generations. 

We stand for democracy and fairness. Nye Bevan introduced the NHS, Welsh miners paid weekly out of their wages to fund hospitals before that. 

Today, the Welsh government funds free prescriptions among many other things, to make life a little easier, not having to decide between the tablets you need or other living expenses. 

We are a diverse nation and we continue to build on that diversity. With new technology, we need to continue a learning culture, so no-one is left behind, new jobs and investments where decent wages are paid and the move to the eradication of cheap labour. 

Our children deserve the best start in life and we need our communities to once again flourish. 

We need a Wales that provides the best possible chance to progress on issues such as social housing, so no-one has to endure the tribulations of private landlords. 

A green economic recovery, using our resources for a brighter future, for our carbon neutral footprint. 

Working-class men over 21 were given the right to vote through the Representation of the Peoples Act 1918, even if they didn’t have property, and the Representation of the Peoples Act 1928 gave women over 21 the right to vote, which was changed to 18 through the Representation of the Peoples Act 1969. 

Today, for the first time in Wales, 16 and 17-year-olds will be able to vote in the Senedd elections. 

Please use your vote for a fairer Wales in the upcoming Senedd elections on May 6.

John James is regional secretary of BFAWU.