Part of 1. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:39 pm on 17 October 2017.
Diolch yn fawr iawn, Llywydd. The Welsh Government and, indeed, the Labour Party generally have been very critical of zero-hours contracts, and also firms like Uber, who they say use their terms and conditions to exploit workers. Well, aren’t supply teachers in Wales often in the same situation? There’s a case that was quoted on the BBC website this week of Angela Sandles, who’s a qualified primary school teacher but, for the last six years, has also been a foster parent, and so has been a supply teacher. She says that, after deductions from the agency that she works for, she can be paid around the minimum wage. And some supply teachers are turning to pizza delivery to make ends meet, and supply teachers are voting with their feet and leaving and looking for alternative employment. Does the First Minister think that this is an acceptable situation?