Part of 3. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:13 pm on 17 November 2021.
Well, as the point has been made across the Chamber, the Welsh Government, along with Governments across the UK, have saved the private bus industry over the last 18 months, which otherwise would have gone to the wall as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, and there is an obligation on the bus industry to behave responsibly in recognition that they are, in fact, at the service of the public.
There is a complex set of arrangements at the moment, and, of course, there are different economic forces at play here. And this is not a new thing; this is a historic position that drivers in Merseyside have been generally better paid than drivers in the north. So, there's not a simple answer to this, but it is absolutely our intention that, through franchising, we will have consistency of terms and conditions across Wales. We certainly don't see franchising as a way of watering down workers' rights—on the contrary. But one thing we are very cautious of, and this is a point that Unite made to me when I met them, is that some companies may be suppressing costs to keep costs low at the moment to then give themselves a competitive advantage when the franchises are advertised, and that is something that we need to keep a close eye on and build into our negotiations once we're able to get the legislation through the Senedd.