I speak today as a Member who is proud to have served working people in my former role as a trade union official, and is proudly committed to continuing to stand up for hard-working and often undervalued public servants as an Assembly Member. It also means that I am probably coming at this from a slightly healthier understanding, perhaps, of the issues than others who have contributed today. We are proud of our social partnership in Wales, and it’s not just for the sake of doing things differently from Westminster. It is actually because it does reap results and it is for the benefit of the worker, workplace and Government. The Cabinet Secretary mentioned the ‘Agenda for Change’ negotiations of a couple of years ago, where I also had the privilege of sitting on the other side of the table. While those discussions were tough and compromises were involved, we got there. Compare that to what happened with my then colleagues over the border in England, who had the door firmly shut in their faces, which ultimately led to industrial action that we did not see here.

Restrictions on facility time for local reps will damage this social partnership and erode the work done by trade unions to improve equal opportunities and practices, and remove one of the best protections that employees currently have from discriminatory treatment. Facility time potentially pays dividends for both employers and workers, and these attacks on facility time in the UK Government legislation have the potential to damage workplace productivity and employee well-being. There is definitely a gap between the well-rehearsed rhetoric that we are hearing around this debate and the actual reality of real life. Failure to have adequate facility time could actually, in fact, result in a higher cost to the employer, as they will be required to negotiate and consult with individual employees. The employer will also potentially see increased caseloads, as much trade union time is spent resolving these issues before they escalate into full cases. So, Cabinet Secretary, can I say: do you actually recognise the reality of the work that local union representatives do, and that it is helpful rather than harmful, and that facility time is an essential part of empowering employees and should be both protected and respected?