The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has defended its support for the coalition government’s proposals to abolish the Agricultural Wages Board (AWB) in the face of vigorous campaigning by trade union, Unite.
The government announced its intention to scrap the AWB in July this year as part of the Public Bodies (Reform) Bill to be tabled this autumn. Unite, which represents farm workers on the AWB, is campaigning against its abolition and argues that the plans will put thousands of rural and agricultural workers’ pay and conditions in jeopardy.
Speaking after a Labour Party fringe meeting at which the NFU was challenged to justify its stance on the board, NFU president Peter Kendall outlined why the NFU was backing the board’s abolition.
He said: “For a number of years, the NFU has felt that the existence of a board that negotiates minimum wage rates for farming and horticulture is totally out of step with both developments in wider employment legislation and the farming industry. Contrary to Unite’s assertions that we changed tack only five years ago, the NFU has opposed the continuation of the Board since the introduction of the National Minimum Wage (NMW).
“Unite has stated publicly that the NFU has, I quote ‘no answers’ on the abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board. In fact the answers are clear and compelling:
The board has failed to modernise in recognising that many farm workers are employed on the basis of an annual salary or paid on the basis of piece work, which are not provided for under the Agricultural Wages Order, the NFU claims.
The NFU described the order as “fiendishly complicated” for many family farms to navigate and overlays wider legislation governing minimum pay (NMW) and conditions of employment.
Kendall added: “Unite somehow thinks that the abolition of the board will lead to a race to the bottom when it comes to agricultural wages. This is just scaremongering. We know full well that farmers, requiring skilled, trained staff have to pay a market premium and offer a range of incentives from housing to additional day’s leave in order to attract and maintain staff.
“Just as Unite has challenged us for answers, I’d challenge them and anyone else to answer one question - why should farming be singled out as a sector by the presence of a unique and separate legislative structure that underpins wage bargaining and employment terms?
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