Diolch, Ddirprwy Lywydd. A better deal for workers is central to a fairer, more equal and more prosperous Wales. Not only is this the right thing to do by workers, but it also benefits our workplaces, our economy and our country as a whole. We're working in partnership across Government and with our social partners to use every lever we have to promote and enable fair work, address labour exploitation and tackle modern slavery.

The Welsh Government established a Fair Work Commission to make recommendations on how we can promote fair work, and its report continues to frame our approach. I'm pleased that we've actioned all six of the commission's priority recommendations, including making annual updates such as this, and we're making good progress on many other recommendations. However, it's important we interpret the work of the Fair Work Commission in ways that enable us to respond in real time. This is because the world of work continues to change and the pace and scale of change, such as the movement towards hybrid working, has accelerated over the past two years. Whilst the coronavirus pandemic has demonstrated that different ways of working are possible, it's also brought sector and Wales-wide challenges into sharper focus and starkly revealed how inequalities risk being entrenched. As we transition out of the pandemic, it's never been timelier to take stock and take action to enable a future of fairer work.

Of course, fair work spans devolved and reserved matters, affecting what we can do on fair work and how we can do it. We have five broad levers at our disposal, and we're making use of all of them. Firstly, we directly influence working conditions in the devolved public sector. Secondly, we use our procurement levers and the power of the public purse to encourage fair work. Thirdly, we use our convening power, bringing together social partners and others to foster fair work and champion good practice. Fourthly, we support individuals and organisations to upskill and access fair work. And finally, we seek to influence reserved employment rights, duties and protections that will have an impact on workers and workplaces in Wales.

On a sector level, we have worked in social partnership through the social care fair work forum. The forum has played the key role in taking forward our programme for government commitment to pay the real living wage in social care. This uplift will begin to hit pay packets in the coming month, and the forum continues to work together to address and seek solutions to the wider challenges we know the sector and those working in it face. We've built on this experience, establishing a retail forum, which is working to embed fair work in our vision for retail. Working in social partnership, we aim to mainstream fair work in other sectors where there are acute and urgent challenges, such as the sectors involved in the visitor economy.

On particular aspects of fair work, we have made progress with the real living wage. We are clear that the real living wage is a component, not a conclusive part, of fair work. Last year saw a record increase in the number of living-wage accredited employers, an impressive 44 per cent increase on the previous year. The proportion of all employee jobs in Wales paid at least the real living wage has continued to rise, at just over 82 per cent in 2021, compared to just under 78 per cent in 2020, closing the gap with the position across the UK as whole, but we need to sustain that progress. We have partnered with Cynnal Cymru as the Living Wage Foundation's accreditation partner in Wales, funding them to support their capacity to engage employers and accelerate real living wage adoption and accreditation.

We're embedding fair work into our approaches across Government. Fair work is a core theme in our recently published plan for employability and skills, and we're working to improve the reach and impact of mechanisms such as the economic contract and the code of practice on ethical employment in supply chains. We are on track to introduce a social partnership and public procurement Bill, and I'm pleased to say Members will have the opportunity to scrutinise this Bill later this year. In addition, we are working with the Wales TUC on a pilot project to engage young people on the role of trade unions, and I expect to be in a position to announce further detail on this in the coming weeks.

We recognise that there are many campaigns and challenges ahead, from a shorter working week to tackling pay gaps and ensuring workers experience a just transition on net zero, automation and digitalisation. We are committed to working in social partnership to explore what action we can take in these areas. But the UK Government needs to take its responsibilities for employment rights and duties seriously. How many more examples like P&O Ferries do we need to see before the UK Government understands inadequate protections, coupled with weak enforcement and an unwillingness to act is a recipe for a race to the bottom on workers' rights? This Government is doing what we can do, and will always do what we can with the levers we have, but we also need the UK Government to act, and act now.

The rolling back of workers' rights and some of the most restrictive trade union legislation in Europe has gone on for far too long, and we are witnessing the destabilising and devastating consequences of this for our people, communities and economy. We need strong unions to balance the interests of employers and workers. Deputy Llywydd, I make no apologies for continuing to make it clear that joining and being part of a trade union is the best way for any worker to protect their rights at work, improve their pay, terms and conditions and ensure that they are heard and represented.

The Welsh Government will continue to build on the progress we have made, and we'll work with our social partners to advance the fair work agenda in Wales. Diolch.