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The Scottish Agricultural Wages Board
shambles continues: and Labour say
they want to keep it
James `Irvine
Teviot Scientific, Cultybraggan Farm,
Comrie, Perthshire
Filed 25 Mar 07
©www.land-care.org.uk
In October of last year this website condemned
the decision of the Scottish Agricultural Wages Board (SAWB) to
dispense with the age-related pay bands at its latest annual review
of agricultural wages (1). The
insistence by SAWB that young workers aged 16 years have the same
minimum wage scale as older workers is severely damaging to the
opportunities for young workers to enter the industry. The industry
desperately needs young workers, but the employers must be able
to afford them.
A National Minimum Wage scale, complete with age-related
bands, has been in existence, backed by law, for some years, making
SAWB an unnecessary duplication. SWAB is the only such organisation
remaining in the UK in relation to any industry. It is an anachronism.
There is supposed to be a drive to reduce red-tape in the farming
industry. Here was an obvious opportunity. But no, SAWB lives on
to do more damage under the current Labour/Liberal Democrat coalition.
Two recent events have warranted another article
on the shambolic situation that is SAWB.
Ross Finnie, currently the Scottish Executive
Minister for the Environment and Rural Affairs (a title that continues
to omit reference to farming or even food), has compelled the Chairman
of SAWB - a Mr John Menzies, a retired electricity power manager
with allegedly no particular knowledge of farming - to get SAWB
to reconsider its earlier decision. Mr Finnie also reminded Mr Menzies
that SAWB has the power to issue a new wages order.
In my previous article, the voting of the members
of SAWB - and who they represented - was recorded, with the chairman
giving the casting vote. It was his vote that led to age-related
pay bands being done away with. Six members representing employers
voted for keeping the age bands, while the six members appointed
by the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) voted to scrap
them. There were five independent members, but only two voted -
in opposite ways.
Mr Finnie's action has arisen from the predicted
consequence of SAWB's ill-informed decision. Opportunities for young
people to enter farming were declining. It will be interesting to
hear the outcome of Mr Finnie's instruction to SWAB to think again.
The second event that has occurred since last
writing on the vexed subject of SAWB is the start of the hustings
for the Scottish General Election on 3rd May - a mere few weeks
away.
At a meeting organised jointly by the National
Farmers Union of Scotland, the Scottish Rural Property and Business
Association, and the Scottish Countryside Alliance, the leaders
of the main political parties were billed to debate points raised
by the rural community. But the only leader to turn up was Annabel
Goldie, Scottish Conservatives. Other parties sent deputies.
When asked directly by the chairman if they thought
that SAWB should be retained, the different political parties answered
as follows:
Labour (Sarah Boyack): Yes
Liberal Democrats (Ross Finnie): Probably
Scottish National Party (Richard Lockhead): Probably
Scottish Conservatives (Annabel Goldie): No
Green Party (Shiona Baird): No
On this score, clearly the current Labour/Liberal
Democrat coalition is not good for Scottish farming. It has been
in power since partial devolution occurred in 1999. Mr Finnie has
been the relevant Minister for these eight years, but his record
shows how much damage he has done the industry (2).
His only saving grace is that his English counterparts have done
even worse.
The above voting pattern gives a clear warning
about what the SNP might get up to if it managed to get some power
in May.
The Greens would be altogether too extreme in
their unscientific prejudices to provide a rational form of farming
management.
If only the Scottish Conservatives could
get their act together they might do better than the rest as far
as farming is concerned - and that goes for small farms as well
as big ones.
©www.land-care.org.uk
References
1. 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
2. Irvine, James (2007). Eight
years of Ross Finnie as 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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