Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Social Justice – in the Senedd at 1:39 pm on 9 November 2022.

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Photo of Joel James Joel James Conservative 1:39, 9 November 2022

Thank you, Llywydd. Deputy Minister, I wanted to pick up, if I may, a few things today in relation to the Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Bill. According to the draft Bill, one of the overarching objectives is that, and I quote:

'A statutory duty will be placed on certain public bodies to seek consensus or compromise with their recognised trade unions (or where there is no recognised trade union) other representatives of their staff, when setting their well-being objectives'.

Now, as we all know, this works when consensus or compromise can be reached, and I am sure that in many cases it will. But there is no mention whatsoever in the Bill about what happens when consensus or compromise cannot be reached, and this will undoubtedly cause issues. With this in mind, Deputy Minister, I'm eager to know what will happen when consensus and compromise cannot be reached, and what mechanisms will be in place to allow public bodies to overcome trade union or worker representative sign-off when there is disagreement.