1. What is the Welsh Government doing to ensure that workers get paid the real living wage? OAQ52252

We were accredited as a living wage employer in 2015. The Welsh NHS has paid the living wage since January 2015, and strong progress is being made across other employers both in the public and private sectors.

That sounds great, First Minister, but workers at Cardiff Airport would appreciate deeds rather than warm words. You bought this airport in 2013, yet we still have workers, some of whom live in the Rhondda, who are being paid less than this living wage. An agreement with the General Municipal Boilermakers will see the airport, and I quote,

'working towards being in a position to implement the Foundation Living Wage by the end of 2020.'

If that does happen, then it will have been a full seven years on what has been called 'publicly funded poverty pay.' Many of these employees are security staff, performing vital functions that keep airport security in place and keep passengers safe. What pressure can you now exert to ensure that this asset becomes a living wage foundation accredited employer by the next Living Wage Week in November?

The airport has made a firm commitment to working towards achievement of the real living wage. A proposal has now been submitted to both recognised unions—the GMB and Unite—that the real living wage will be paid as a minimum to all directly employed airport staff by April 2020. Now, the unions will be taking this proposal to ballot and we understand the unions will be making a positive recommendation to members. That uplift is proposed to take place in two increments—the first in April 2019 and the second in April 2020—and that builds on the progress already made at the airport, which includes the eradication of zero-hours contracts and the introduction of enhanced rates of pay for both overtime and bank holiday working. 

As a member of the real living wage leadership group, I was pleased to hear from the accreditation body Cynnal Cymru that 143 employers have been accredited in Wales, including private as well as public and third sector employers. Would you agree, First Minister, that we need to embed commitment and progress towards the real living wage in the economic action plan and, indeed, the gender review, as it's clear this will help address low pay and inequality in the workplace in Wales?

Well, we are firmly committed to addressing low pay and inequality in the workplace in Wales. You're right, of course, to say that low pay impacts disproportionately on women, and our gender review will pick this up. In terms of the economic action plan, it will introduce a new economic contract that will require firms seeking Welsh Government business support to commit to investing in their workforce through high-quality employment, skills development and fair work. 

First Minister, 20 years ago, Welsh and Scottish workers had identical pay packets of about £301 per week. Twenty years later, the Welsh pay packet contains £498 a week, whereas the Scottish pay packet contains £49 more at £547. Despite the important contribution of the living wage and the benefits system, I'm sure you'd agree that we do need to ensure fairness, particularly for those on lower incomes. What's your Government doing to close this gap and ensure that there are higher paid, better quality jobs for people living in Wales, and what discussions have you had with the UK Government with regard to the Taylor review on modern working practices?

[Inaudible.]—the UK Government is the mess they're making of the benefit system, particularly with regard to universal credit, which will affect disproportionately and very negatively so many people in Wales. We've seen the removal of in-work tax credits as well. That hasn't helped people in terms of their incomes. We've seen, for example, the refusal of the UK Government to fund Wales properly, and, indeed, the UK Government have given Northern Ireland £1 billion, whereas Wales has had absolutely nothing. There's a great deal of work I think the Member can do with his own party in terms of making sure that Wales gets fairness, because we don't get it from the Tories. 

First Minister, one of the fundamentals of economics is the law of supply and demand. If supply exceeds demand, the price of a commodity falls. This applies as much to the supply of labour as any other commodity. Would the First Minister not agree with me that it is the over-supply of cheap labour, especially in the semi-skilled and unskilled marketplace, caused by uncontrolled mass immigration, which has allowed big business to exploit workers with low wages?

There are many, many sectors of the Welsh economy that depend very much on labour from outside the UK. If we look at the food and drink sector, there are many firms who'd simply not be able to survive, because there are other options available for local workers that are seen as more attractive. Our abattoirs, for example, would struggle hugely if they weren't able to recruit from other countries. So, no, I don't agree that it's a question of over-supply. If you look at unemployment in Wales, it's historically very, very low—4.5 per cent. That's, effectively, full employment in terms of economics, which is why, of course, there's a need to be able to recruit skilled workers, and workers who are semi-skilled, from other countries. Where would our NHS be, for example, without the doctors who we recruit from outside Wales? I prefer to have a situation where people have the treatment they need, rather than obsessing with where they're from.