3. Statement by the First Minister: The Legislative Programme

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:06 pm on 16 July 2019.

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Photo of Mick Antoniw Mick Antoniw Labour 4:06, 16 July 2019

First Minister, I will confine my comments, I think, to the references to the social partnership part of the legislative programme, because I think this may be one of the most underplayed parts of what is, I think, a very visionary agenda. One of the prime objectives of any Government is the well-being of its people. In Wales, we have unemployment falling from 7.7 per cent eight years ago to 4.4 per cent now, to some of the lowest levels we've had in generations. Yet, the level of in-work poverty remains the same. It must be fundamental to any society that, if someone does a good week's work, they should be entitled to a decent standard of living and they should be entitled to a reasonable standard for their families as well.

The International Labour Organization says that dialogue and equity are at the heart of collective bargaining and help to build stable and decent societies, and that collective bargaining can create a fairer economy. I want to welcome that particular part of the legislative programme, but also to put on record the actual socioeconomic importance of this. This is visionary legislation, which is also legislation being recognised across the UK and, indeed, further afield as being fundamental to one of the biggest challenges we face within our society, and that is socioeconomic inequality. So, I welcome that. I wonder if you could perhaps give us an indication of the timescale for the process of this legislation. Beyond that, I think this will perhaps become one of the jewels in the crown of Welsh Labour's legislative programme.