Janet Finch-Saunders: The Wales Audit Office has previously highlighted the spend by public bodies on external consultants—£56 million last year—and noted that if they do not manage consultancy services effectively, they can be an expensive way to deliver our public services. Meanwhile, the NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership—NWSSP—achieved over £20 million in procurement savings in 2015-16, over...
Janet Finch-Saunders: 1. Will the First Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government's support for the farming industry in Wales? OAQ(5)0726(FM)
Janet Finch-Saunders: Thank you. ‘Panorama’ this week looks at how Brexit could impact on our farmers here in Wales. Now, as Mr Jacob Anthony from your constituency said on the programme, the EU has ‘one agricultural policy that’s meant to fit all 28 nations…countries farming reindeer in the Arctic Circle all the way down to farmers in the Mediterranean growing olives.’ How are you, therefore, working...
Janet Finch-Saunders: Diolch, Llywydd. I move amendment 1. This amendment refers to restrictions on the deduction of union subscriptions from wages by employers. The UK Government has modernised the relationship between trade unions and their members. [Interruption.] Oh, yes, they have. [Interruption.] This amendment aims to give public sector workers the opportunity to make their payments through direct debit,...
Janet Finch-Saunders: Thank you. I think it’s fair to say it will be obvious to many that Labour cannot support any changes to the Bill for fear of upsetting their union paymasters. The 2017 election campaign is clear evidence of this, with £4 million out of £4.5 million in campaign donations in May coming directly from the unions. That’s 91 per cent, and I would call on those Members here today to declare...
Janet Finch-Saunders: I move amendment 2 in my name, but when I do so, I do it on behalf, actually, of the Welsh Conservative group here today. This amendment refers to the powers to require the publication of information on facility time and to impose requirements on public sector employers in relation to paid facility time. To clarify, this amendment does not seek to remove or stop facility time, or the benefits...
Janet Finch-Saunders: Thank you, Llywydd. Well, do you know what? We decided to do your work for you, Cabinet Secretary. And so, therefore, we put in a Welsh Conservative freedom of information request in order to bring some openness, transparency, and accountability to our argument and to proceedings here in the National Assembly for Wales. Out of the 28 public bodies able to respond in full, 63 officers were on...
Janet Finch-Saunders: A clear—. No, I want to carry on.
Janet Finch-Saunders: Our freedom of information request clearly highlighted the need for more transparency in this regard. So, whilst this amendment does not dispute the value of facility time, I think it’s fair and justified to be calling for this to be published. It is critical that transparency and openness are ingrained across the Welsh public sector—it’s critical that they are ingrained in any workings...
Janet Finch-Saunders: Thank you, Llywydd. I move amendment 3. This amendment, of course, refers to the 40 per cent ballot threshold for industrial action affecting important public services. We recognise the importance of trade unions as valuable institutions in British society and know that many dedicated trade unionists have a strong history of working hard to represent their members, campaigning for improved...
Janet Finch-Saunders: Thank you. With strikes having such a high impact on the normal lives of such a large group of people, it is sensible that strikes, when necessary, are backed up with an appropriate level of support from those involved. The UK Government’s Trade Union Act 2016 sought to create workable legislation that is fit for purpose in our modern, fluid economic market. What we do not want to see is a...
Janet Finch-Saunders: Thank you. I’d just like to say to the Cabinet Secretary: if your social partnership has been so successful, why does Wales have the lowest pay, employment and prosperity levels in the whole of Britain? In its briefing for the original UK Government Bill, the House of Commons library found that, in 2015, Wales had the fourth highest amount of working days lost out of the UK regions—six...
Janet Finch-Saunders: I withdraw. [Interruption.]
Janet Finch-Saunders: I withdraw. [Interruption.]
Janet Finch-Saunders: Thank you. I move amendment 6. This amendment seeks to allow employers the freedom to employ agency workers to cover strike action. I’ve already discussed the significant impact on daily life to many members of the public that strikes can cause: having to take a day off work to look after children if a school is closed, for example. Further to amendment 3, clearly, we do only want to see...
Janet Finch-Saunders: Thank you. Of course, it remains that there are sectors in which industrial action has a wider impact on members of the public that is disproportionate and unfair. Strikes can prevent people from getting to work and earning their own living and prevent businesses from managing their workforces effectively. For instance, strikes in important public services such as education will mean some...
Janet Finch-Saunders: No. Sorry, Dawn—yes, whoever. A modern, dynamic workforce needs flexibility to drive economic change. The UK Act is mindful of this. The Welsh version shifts focus away from value for money and back into the trade unions. I move.
Janet Finch-Saunders: Not moved.
Janet Finch-Saunders: Diolch, Llywydd. I move amendment 8. Our final amendment seeks to ensure that a full analysis of the true impact of this Bill will be undertaken before it is brought into effect. In essence, by undertaking an assessment of the impact of the UK Government's Trade Union Act, the Welsh Government and the National Assembly for Wales will be able to make a more informed judgment on the impact that...
Janet Finch-Saunders: Diolch, Llywydd. Many of the answers, of course, from the Cabinet Secretary and those giving evidence at Stages 1 and 2 of this Bill were simply not sufficiently evidence-based for us to make an independent assessment of the impact of this Bill. For example, going back to amendment 1, we were told continually that the cost for check-off was minimal, without anyone being able to provide an...
