January 20, 2021 3:44 pm
Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots has set out plans to revoke legislation which underpins the Agricultural Wages Board in Northern Ireland.
The role of the board is to set minimum rates of pay and conditions for workers in agriculture.
Minister Poots said: “The Agricultural Wages Board was established in Northern Ireland around 80 years ago when there was less protection for workers.
“However, various pieces of legislation have been introduced over the years to greatly improve the level of protection afforded to all workers, in areas covering minimum wage, holiday entitlement and sick pay.
More recently, the introduction of the National Living Wage has further reduced the necessity of the Agricultural Wages Board and, in my view, there remains little justification for the agricultural sector to be the only industry subject to the special considerations of a wage board.