7. Plaid Cymru Debate: Workers' Rights

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:14 pm on 1 May 2019.

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Photo of Julie James Julie James Labour 5:14, 1 May 2019

I take the point that you make, and actually I agreed with much of what you said in your speech, and I think the vast majority of zero-hours contracts are indeed exploitative. The issue there is the control issue that you rightly outlined. I want to just qualify it a little, because it is about control. There are zero-hours contracts where the control is shared and people need those flexible arrangements, but they only work where the worker is in control of that arrangement, and that's an arrangement you don't very frequently see. So it's a very small caveat to your 'all', because I don't think there are very many of those. So, we are very keen on stopping exploitative zero-hours contracts, and we are very keen to make sure that some of the issues that you've both raised around the way that workers are treated and the way that they have an unequal power relationship are addressed. But, it is outside our devolution settlement, and so what we'll be doing—and I'll just start to outline that now—is using the levers we've got to their maximum effect to eradicate that as much as we possibly can and to lead the way for the areas of the Welsh economy where we don't have direct power. For what it's worth, I, too, think we should have that power, just to be clear.

But, as I said, for Wales to become a fair work nation, both our policies and our supporting institutional arrangements will need to work together. So, the commission that we appointed, the independent Fair Work Commission, will be publishing its report this week, on 3 May, and its recommendations will help shape our thinking about how we might enhance employment opportunities across Wales. Social partnership will be absolutely key to driving this forward. It will rely on getting the balance right in the relationships between the partners in order to take them with us and get the leverage that we want. It will be important to ensure that agreements reached through social partnership are implemented effectively.

That's why we have already, as Mick Antoniw said in his intervention, committed to introducing a social partnership Act in this Assembly term in order to provide greater clarity about the authority of social partnership bodies and their effect. And, if and when we leave the EU, we will indeed be looking to ensure there is no weakening of existing employment rights, that new trade agreements protect employment standards, and that future UK employment legislation keeps pace with progressive EU employment legislation. It's not enough, Russell George, to stand still and rest on our laurels. We need to make sure that Wales keeps its place in the world as a good place to live and work, a good place to do business. And for that to happen, both the employers and the workers need to recognise that that's what we are and that is why, Dirprwy Lywydd, we will be bringing forward the social partnership Act, we will be looking to make Wales a fair work nation, and that is why we had the independent report. And that's why I'm very pleased to have been able to put the record straight in this debate today. Diolch.