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Landward (BBC Scotland TV) highlights
the absurdity of Scotland's Agricultural
Wages Board for young would-be
entrants to farming
James Irvine
Teviot Scientific, Cultybraggan Farm, Comrie,
Perthshire
Filed 28 Jul 07
©www.land-care.org.uk
This website has previously sung the praises of
the much improved new version of Landward, hosted by Nick Nairn,
and broadcast sometimes on a Friday evening and sometimes on a Sunday
morning on BBC Scotland TV (1).
Each weekly programme concentrates on giving brief
but informative accounts of issues of current importance to the
management and enjoyment of Scotland's outdoors. One of the issues
dealt with on Friday 27th July was the intransigence and unreasonableness
of the Scottish Agricultural Wages Board (SAWB): an issue that has
occupied previous pages of this website with more than a touch of
frustration (2, 3).
It was refreshing to see that young persons, before
leaving school and when looking to shape their careers, could see
that their desired path into farming was being blocked by the rules
of the notorious SAWB.
These youngsters clearly understood that it was
not feasible to expect farmers to pay school leavers the same basic
rates as agriculturally experienced, able-bodied mature adults.
Even the farmer whose daughter wished to take up farming could not
afford to employ her at these inflated rates on his own farm.
The rates are rightly referred to as inflated.
No other industry is subjected to a ruling that demands higher wages
for young people, over and above that which applies across the board
for all types of industry, and indeed for all forms of employment:
namely, the National Minimum Wage. The introduction of the National
Minimum Wage Order should have made the SAWB redundant. But the
Trade Union members of the SAWB voted to keep themselves in existence,
and to continue to impose higher rates for young persons wanting
to enter farming. And this was against the advice of NFU Scotland,
who certainly realise the importance of attracting new young blood
into farming.
Since devolution in 1999 and up till May of this
year, the Labour-Liberal Coalition had held political power at Holyrood.
Ross Finnie had been the Minister of Environment and Rural Affairs
for eight years (remember him: the wee man with the big voice, the
accountant from Gourack, the Captain Mannering of Dad's Army, who
presided over the devastation of much of Scottish farming and fishing
industries, but who at least was better than his truly awful counterpart
at Defra - Margaret Becket?) (4).
He asked the SAWB to reconsider their decision to continue in existence,
and especially the rates they were imposing on young entrants into
farming. The SAWB did reconvene but effectively "cocked a snoop"
at the Minister. (A more common terminology in the current vernacular
for their action could be used, but may not be appropriate for the
pages of this website, although much used in farming circles in
a variety of contexts).
The reality is that the Scottish farming industry
has a serious problem recruiting young people, because they cannot
see a viable career ahead in the current economic environment, making
a career in the building industry, or as plumbers or carpenters
much easier to enter and much more remunerative in the longer term.
Entry into these industries do not carry the burden to the employer
having to pay new entrants over the odds.
The new Minster for SEERAD, Richard Lochhead,
in his brief period in office has already got rid of the threat
of the daft regulation that all agricultural shows would have to
be licensed, which would have incurred crippling costs to the show
organisers for little benefit. Hopefully, the SNP is not so hefted
to the unions that he has to go along with what they say. To get
rid of this noxious, self-seeking quango that is the SAWB, would
also help to fulfill an SNP manifesto promise to reduce bureaucracy,
and especially quangos.
To rid farmers and would-be farmers of SAWB would
be a welcome start to trimming down the industry of parasitic hangers-on,
although hopefully he also has much bigger fish to fry: like boiling
down Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and Scottish Environment Protection
Agency (SEPA) into one quango of modest proportion run by knowledgeable
people.
Here's hoping!
©www.land-care.org.uk
References
1. Irvine, James (2007).
Landward, a second excellent programme: Friday 8th June, 7.00pm,
BBC2 Scotland
See SOCIAL/ECONOMIC/POLITICAL Homepage, filed 10 Jun 07,
www.land-care.org.uk Click
Here to View
2. Irvine, James (2006).
Scottish Agricultural Wages Board aims another shot at the feet
of Scottish farming
See SOCIAL/ECONOMIC/POLITICAL Homepage, filed 26 Oct 06,
www.land-care.org.uk Click
Here to View
3. Irvine, James (2007).
The Scottish Agricultural Wages Board shambles continues: and Labour
say they want to keep it
See SOCIAL/ECONOMIC/POLITICAL Homepage, filed25 Mar 07,
www.land-care.org.uk Click
Here to View
4. Irvine, James (2007).
Eight years of Ross Finnie as Scottish Minister for Environment
and Rural Affairs: what did he have to say for himself at NFUS agm,
Dunblane, February 2007?
See SOCIAL/ECONOMIC/POLITICAL Homepage, filed 02 Mar 07,
www.land-care.org.uk Click
Here to View
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