Government plans for change

The government has announced a plan to consolidate the NMW regulations and plans to publish draft revised regulations during 2013.

The government is also making important changes in the field of agricultural wages. It used the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 to abolish the Agricultural Wages Board with no House of Commons debate, bringing agricultural workers under the umbrella of the NMW Regulations. Agricultural workers are already among the most poorly paid workers in the UK, operating in one of the UK’s most dangerous sectors, and unions fought hard to retain this last UK wages council. A majority of respondents to the consultation opposed its abolition which is to take effect from 1 October 2013. General union Unite estimates that around 60,000 agricultural workers are affected by the change. It has vowed to fight to restore the Board and will set up a “wages watch” unit to monitor any assaults on pay and conditions of its members over the coming months.