Part of 3. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:05 pm on 17 November 2021.
Thank you for that further comment. Can I just say, at the beginning, that we hope that industrial action can be avoided, so that passengers are not further disrupted? We were pleased that the dispute between Unite and Stagecoach in the south-east of Wales was successfully resolved through negotiations, and, as I say, we're pleased negotiations are ongoing at the moment in the north, and we hope for a similar outcome. Of course, there are different sets of issues at play in both circumstances, and these are primarily commercial matters. But, to seize on what Jack Sargeant said there about the impact of Conservative deregulation since the 1980s, this is a profound factor at play here. Since deregulation, bus drivers' wages have risen at a far slower rate than the average rates for similar occupations. So, there is a direct relationship between the regulation and the rates of pay, and it is our intention to address deregulation and bring in a franchising system. We want to see one ticket, one timetable and one fare across the whole of Wales, and, as part of that, one set of terms of conditions for the workforce. We'll be bringing forward a bus strategy and a bus White Paper in the new year, ahead of bringing in new legislation that we hope will not only improve terms of conditions for the workforce, but make bus a far more viable option for more people, as part of our efforts to tackle climate change.