‘Bills are rising but so are we’: Campaigners storm Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water HQ

Abby Neve

More than 50 protesters occupied a Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water building this morning, demanding talks with the company as part of a peaceful day of action across nine UK cities.

The campaigners from the community and tenants’ union ACORN used stools to jump the barriers inside the building in St Mellons, Cardiff, before heading upstairs to drop banners, chant, and stage a mock ‘trial’ in which a ‘judge’ read out alleged ‘crimes’ committed by Dŵr Cymru through a megaphone.

As a result of the demonstration, Dŵr Cymru Head of Comms Gwyddno Dafydd and Chief Customer Officer Kit Wilson agreed to meet with the protesters to discuss their demands, and a further meeting was arranged.

Gwyddno Dafydd has confirmed that Chief Customer Officer Kit Wilson will attend on behalf of Dŵr Cymru ‘within the next few weeks’, although no date has been set.

Elizabeth Bailey, ACORN’s Action Lead at the protest today, said:

“The day was a huge success, we took our demands to Welsh Water with over 50 of our members and achieved our aim of holding them accountable for their ‘crimes’. It was a strong demonstration of our collective anger and outrage and a wonderful example of community strength…

“The people who are routinely ignored by these companies and the politicians who claim to work for us got the chance to speak today, and there’s no way we can be ignored after that.”

Paddy Nolan, National Organiser for ACORN, said:

“Our main demand is to sit down with the head of Debt Collections, and if possible the CEO, to discuss their debt collection policy.”

Besides this, protesters were demanding that the company address sewage discharges, justify and reconsider the projected 42% price increases, and reassess the way they collect unpaid bills.

ACORN say they are against the use of attachments to earnings – taking money straight from wages – and deductions from benefits for people who can’t pay their water bills.

National Organiser Paddy Nolan used to work for Dŵr Cymru, where he found the working practices ‘pretty bad.’

He stressed that the decision to stage the demonstration was made democratically by members, but added that his time inside the company gave him first-hand insight into why these problems arise.

“You have limited breaks, you can’t go to the toilet outside your break, really. You’re expected to hit conflicting targets… we would be expected to put attachments to earnings on people who can’t afford things.”

‘The vibes were brilliant’

ACORN stressed that the protest was peaceful, and that there were no arrests despite a police presence.

“We were just there to make our point… non-violence, no intimidation, no threats, no disruption… the vibes were brilliant.”

They were met with little resistance inside the building, according to ACORN.

“Two members of staff did try and block us getting up the stairs… They weren’t members of security, just two members of staff who seemed to want to put their bodies on the line. Eventually, they relented, I think maybe under instruction from another member of staff.”

“There was a member of staff that was very frustrated that we were there, and threatened to lock me in a toilet. I asked if I could use the toilet, he said yes, and then went to lock it and sweep me in. I thought, my word! When I worked here they hardly let me go to the toilet, and now they want to lock me in it.”

According to ACORN, police arrived quickly, and asked the protesters to move outside of the building.

Following a 30 minute negotiation with the police, and an agreement from Dŵr Cymru to hold a further meeting, the protesters moved outside.

‘Bailiff-free Britain’

The union’s core demand was that Dŵr Cymru stop using external debt collectors. ACORN said they will continue campaigning until they stop using bailiffs.

Paddy Nolan said: “I’ve seen bailiffs drag people out by their ankles. I’ve seen bailiffs say things like, when I go into a property, I look for people’s ashes… or pictures of their kids. It’s not got financial value, but it’s got sentimental value, and it makes them act.”

“When I worked there, the head of debt would say ‘I don’t have a problem with can’t payers, only won’t payers’ – yet they’d make attachments to earnings from people’s benefits”.

Responding, a representative for Dŵr Cymru said:

“Our priority is always to work directly with customers who are struggling to pay their bills and agree a payment plan that is affordable for their individual circumstances.”

“Through our Customer Assistance Fund Debt Support scheme, customers who maintain an agreed payment plan for six months can have 50% of their outstanding debt cleared, with the remainder written off after a further six months of payments.”

“Debt collection agencies are only used as a last resort, when customers have not engaged with us despite repeated attempts to make contact and offer support.”

“In most instances, agencies will communicate by letter, telephone or other agreed channels. They do not visit customers’ homes to collect money or seize possessions. Any visit would be considered solely as a means of establishing contact after all other attempts to engage with the customer have been unsuccessful.”

‘Making our kids sick’

Donning fish hats, campaigners also protested Dŵr Cymru’s sewage performance. Just two months ago, Dŵr Cymru had to pay out £44.7m over sewage spills after ‘serious’ failures,  and the company admitted its services fell short.

A man dressed as a ‘judge’ read inside the building: “for the crime of dumping 604 years worth of sewage into our rivers, killing the fish and making our kids sick.”

Protesters shouted back: “Guilty!”

Paddy Nolan said:

“They’re raising bills while providing one of the worst services in terms of sewage.”

“They admitted that since privatization there was nowhere near enough investment in sewage… they were saying that ‘we know it’s not good enough’, and because of privatisation, there’s been years of underinvestment that they’re trying to catch up with.”

Gwyddno Dafydd accepted that this was a “loose paraphrase” of what had been said, but added:

“It is important to note that investment levels and therefore bill rises are set by our regulator… it isn’t an accurate reflection of the point that was being made about the regulator setting investment levels”.

Responding to the protest, a Dŵr Cymru representative said:

“The average Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water bill is forecast to rise by 42% between 2025-2030. We are conscious of the impact of water bills on households and work closely with our most vulnerable customers to support them financially.”

“Bills have historically been held below inflation in real terms for much of the past decade. There is now a widely recognised need for increased investment to meet environmental requirements, respond to climate change and improve the resilience of ageing infrastructure.”

“The company will invest a record £4.2bn capital investment programme between 2025-30, with £2.5bn of that sum to protect the environment”

“Customers pay an average of less than £2 a day for drinking water that is consistently ranked as equal highest quality in the world.”

The demonstration was part of a nationwide day of action, with further protests taking place in today in Bristol, Darlington, Bradford, Coventry, London, Brighton, Warrington and Thetford.

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