7. Plaid Cymru Debate: Workers' Rights

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:57 pm on 1 May 2019.

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Photo of Russell George Russell George Conservative 4:57, 1 May 2019

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and I'd like to thank Plaid for bringing forward this debate today, and also say that I will move the amendments in the name of my colleague Darren Millar.

Can I say I support the vast majority of Plaid's motion? I particularly support their points 1, 2 and 3, and I look at point 2 of their motion, noting—it's a noting motion—that Wales is lagging behind the rest of the UK when it comes to fair wage levels, with many people in Wales on wages 30 per cent lower than the rest of the UK population. That is a sad fact that that's correct, but disappointing that that's the case, and I do think that that is a result of Government, and since we've had devolution 20 years ago, that gap has only widened, which makes this all the more disappointing. The Taylor review of modern working practices states—and I'm quoting here—that

'Flexibility in the labour market is important and must be retained in order to keep participation rates high', and the report cites the 2017 labour force survey, which found that one fifth of people on zero-hours contracts are in full-time education, and 68 per cent of those on contracts do not want more hours. Certainly, the implication there is that zero-hours contracts do suit the vast majority of people on them.