15 July 2019

By Lydia Hayes, University of Cardiff

On Tuesday 16th (tomorrow) the Institute of Employment Rights and Wales TUC will hold a public meeting in Cardiff on trade union rights and fair work. The backdrop is a landmark announcement by Wales’ First Minister Mark Drakeford. Trade unions are at the core of a new plan for Welsh Government. It will embed social partnership and collective bargaining in law. The proposed Social Partnership Act will create new legal duties so that decision-making inside government departments is informed by agreements reached with trade unions and employers’ organisations. The Act will also create a new government directorate, the Office of Fair Work, with a cross-cutting remit to work across all areas of government. The aim is to put the interests of working people, and collective bargaining, at the heart of Wales’ future.