Welsh farmworkers’ wages get protection

The incomes of farmworkers in Wales are to be protected after the Supreme Court ruled that Wales has the power to set minimum wages.

The Westminster government last year blocked a move by the Welsh government to introduce its own farm wages board following the abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board (AWB) serving England and Wales.

The Supreme Court was then asked by the attorney general Dominic Grieve to rule on the legality of the assembly’s decision after he argued that “employment” issues were not a devolved matter.

On Wednesday (9 July), that court ruled that the Assembly Bill was lawful, a decision first minister Carwyn Jones described as “significant”.

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“In practice, it means the lowest paid agricultural workers in Wales will now have a degree of protection they would not otherwise have had, following the UK government’s unilateral decision to abolish the Agricultural Wages Board for England and Wales,” he said.

The Agricultural Sector Bill is expected to receive Royal Assent later this month, allowing Welsh ministers to create an Agricultural Advisory Panel to set minimum wage levels.

The Welsh government said the panel would also “promote skills development and career progression within the agricultural sector”.

Unite regional secretary for Wales Andy Richards said the court ruling was good news for agricultural workers.

“We can now go forward to ensure our rural workers in Wales are supported and protected and that the agricultural sector has a sustainable future,’’ he said.

However, North Wales Conservative AM Antoinette Sandbach described the concept of an Agricultural Wages Board as “outdated” and “complicated”. She said scrapping it would put farmers on an equal footing with other Welsh employers.