Commentary on Sections Section 4 – Agricultural wages orders: powers of the Welsh Ministers
15.This section enables the Welsh Ministers to make an agricultural wages order after receiving a draft order from the Panel. The Welsh Ministers also have the power to refer the order back to the Panel for further consideration and resubmission by the Panel, if this is felt necessary.
16.The Welsh Ministers may also make agricultural wages orders on their own initiative, until the Panel is established. This enables the Welsh Ministers to account for any changes made to the National Minimum Wage, where those changes occur before the Panel has been established. This power could be used, for example, to set higher minimum agricultural wages, where the National Minimum Wage would otherwise increase beyond the minimum agricultural wage.
17.Should the Welsh Ministers decide to make an order under their own initiative, prior to doing so, they must consult the persons or bodies that they think are likely to have an interest in the order. In practice this is likely to include farming unions and other sector representatives, farmers and agricultural workers themselves.