Equity has today written to Welsh First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth, calling on his government to place culture, fair work and workforce sustainability at the centre of its new Programme for Government.
The performing arts and entertainment union’s intervention follows its Culture Is Work campaign during the election period, which asked candidates across Wales to support five core pledges around cultural leadership, sustainable investment, fair work, equality and economic security for creative workers.
Throughout the campaign, candidates from across Wales signed the Culture Is Work pledge, reflecting growing recognition that culture in Wales is not simply an idea or symbol, but an industry and workforce central to national life. More than 30% of Plaid Cymru candidates elected to the new Senedd signed the pledge, with the union also welcoming the strong alignment between many of its campaign priorities and commitments contained in Plaid Cymru’s manifesto on culture, sport and the Welsh language.
Equity is now urging the First Minister to ensure that cultural policy is treated as part of Wales’s wider economic and social infrastructure and that the workforce behind the sector is properly recognised within future policy and investment decisions.
With a new government now in place, there is a real opportunity to embed fair work, workforce voice and long-term sustainability much more clearly within cultural policy in Wales.
Simon Curtis, Equity National Official for Wales
The union is also calling for:
· Cabinet-level leadership for culture and the creative industries
· the continuation and strengthening of the Arts, Creative & Media Sector Workforce Social Partnership
· greater long-term funding stability for the sector
· stronger links between public investment and fair work standards
The call comes amid ongoing concern about the long-term sustainability of the cultural workforce in Wales.
Research commissioned by Equity from the Autonomy Institute during the election campaign found that Wales has experienced a 46% fall in local authority arts and entertainment spending since 2010 — a reduction of around £30 million annually.
Equity says these pressures are increasingly affecting workforce retention, freelance sustainability and access to careers in the performing arts and entertainment industries.
Simon Curtis, Equity National Official for Wales, said:
“Culture in Wales depends on a skilled workforce — performers, stage managers, designers, creative practitioners and many others — but too many are working under insecure conditions, even where public funding is involved.
“The election campaign demonstrated growing cross-party support for the principle that culture is work, and that the workforce behind it must be properly supported. We were particularly pleased by the level of support for the Culture Is Work pledge among newly elected Plaid Cymru MSs, alongside the strong alignment between many of our priorities and the commitments set out in Plaid Cymru’s manifesto during the campaign.
“With a new government now in place, there is a real opportunity to embed fair work, workforce voice and long-term sustainability much more clearly within cultural policy in Wales.
“An industry people can’t afford to stay in is not a sustainable industry.”
Equity said it hopes to meet with the First Minister and relevant Cabinet Secretaries in the coming weeks to discuss how Equity and the Welsh Government can work together to support fair work and long-term sustainability across the cultural sector.
FULL TEXT OF LETTER
Rhun ap Iorwerth MS
First Minister
Welsh Government
12th May 2026
Dear First Minister,
I am writing to congratulate you on your party’s success at the recent Senedd elections, your subsequent appointment as First Minister, and to wish you well for the parliamentary term ahead. We look forward to working constructively with your government to support a strong and sustainable future for arts, culture and the creative workforce in Wales.
During the election campaign, Equity members across Wales called on candidates to support the principles set out in our Culture Is Work campaign — recognising culture not simply as an idea or symbol, but as an industry and workforce central to Wales’s economic, social and cultural life.
We were particularly pleased that, alongside strong cross-party support for the campaign, more than 30% of elected Plaid Cymru candidates signed Equity’s Culture Is Work pledge, demonstrating strong support within your party for these priorities.
We would welcome the opportunity to meet with you and relevant Cabinet colleagues in the coming weeks to discuss how Equity and the Welsh Government can work together to strengthen fair work, workforce sustainability and long-term cultural investment in Wales.
Our Culture is Work campaign calls for stronger cultural leadership and democratic accountability, sustainable long-term investment, fair work and workforce voice, greater equality and access and improved economic security for creative workers and freelancers. We were also pleased by the strong alignment between a number of these priorities and the commitments set out in Plaid Cymru’s manifesto on culture, sport and the Welsh language.
Equity is keen to work with your government to help translate these shared principles into practical delivery over the coming Senedd term.
In particular, we are keen to see leadership at Cabinet level for culture and the creative industries, alongside the continuation and strengthening of the Arts, Creative & Media Sector Workforce Social Partnership as a mechanism for workforce voice, fair work and long-term sector sustainability.
As you will be aware, the cultural sector in Wales continues to face significant pressures. Research commissioned by Equity from the Autonomy Institute during the election campaign found that Wales has seen a 46% fall in local authority spending on arts and entertainment since 2010 — a reduction of approximately £30 million annually. This represents a near 50% cut in per capita local cultural spending over that period and has had significant consequences not only for organisations, but for the workforce and for the long-term sustainability of cultural provision across Wales.
We recognise that local government funding decisions sit within wider fiscal pressures and competing priorities. Nevertheless, local authority investment remains a vital part of the cultural ecology in Wales — supporting theatres, live performance, community arts and local creative economies in every part of the country.
From our perspective, this is not simply a question of supporting culture as an asset, but of ensuring that the workforce behind it can build sustainable careers in Wales.
I look forward to working constructively with you in the period ahead.
Yours sincerely,
Simon Curtis
National Official for Wales
Read more on our Culture is Work Wales campaign
