Still fighting for the future

Unite finds itself in a fresh battle to retain the panel which helps set the pay and conditions of agricultural workers in Wales following Labour’s disastrous results in the May elections earlier this year.

Plaid Cymru is now the largest party in Wales after winning 43 of the 96 seats in the Senedd – six short of a majority.

Party leader Rhun ap Iorwerth is the new First Minister, and Unite is keen to find out what his party’s views are on the Welsh Agricultural Advisory Panel (WAAP), which was established  after the abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government in 2013.

Unite has been fighting demands from the National Farmers Union (NFU) to scrap the panel, arguing it is crucial to attracting young people to the industry – arguments it is having to make all over again.

Melissa Charles-Davies was recently appointed to chair the panel for the next four years, which has given hope to Unite that it will continue.

Joanne Galazka, Unite regional women’s and equalities officer, is a passionate advocate of retaining the panel, of which she is a member, to continue its work of setting decent pay rates and improving skills and conditions for workers.

She regularly met with Labour ministers at the Senedd and will make sure she keeps the pressure on Plaid not to change the remit of the panel, although she admits, “We are in unknown territory.”

She said the new chairwoman has previously done work for the NFU, but was assured during the selection process that she will be independent.

“We assume it is business as usual and we are prepared to do whatever it takes to make sure agricultural workers in Wales have a voice,” she said.

“We need the panel to exist well into the future to make sure increases in pay and conditions are higher in Wales than in other parts of the UK which defaults to the national minimum wage.

“We want to make sure we are not hit by a race to the bottom. Labour shortages have not gone away – in fact things are getting worse.

“Working in agriculture requires skills and a certain level of education and training, so workers deserve fair wages.

“I might be obsessed with retaining the panel, but I know the difference the panel makes to the lives of agricultural workers in Wales.”

Joanne remains optimistic that the new government will realise the importance of the panel, but is worried at the lack of meetings it has held recently, albeit covering the period running up to the May elections.

Fellow Unite panel member Barrie Roberts is also optimistic, saying his biggest concern was Reform winning control of the Senedd, which it failed to do.

“Even with Plaid running a minority government I don’t think things will change radically,” he told UniteLive.

“We are more likely to get support than if Reform and the Conservatives had combined to run the Senedd.”

He believes Unite can deal with the demise of Labour in Wales and the new chairwoman who he stresses was appointed and vetted by the previous administration.

Steve Leniec, who chairs Unite’s agriculture sub-sector, said the union had been worried that if there was a delay in the appointment, it would have been easier to abolish the panel.

“Even though we had some questions about the independence of the chairwoman, we felt it was better to have her in place so the panel was operational.

“I hope Plaid will be realistic about the importance of supporting the panel because it is the only mechanism for agricultural workers in Wales to negotiate pay and conditions that reflect their skills.”

Steve, a tractor driver from Oxfordshire, points out that since the abolition of the national agricultural wages board, the sector in England is now a “minimum wage industry.”

Pat McIlvogue, Unite acting national officer for the sector, strongly agrees with the importance of retaining the panel, and of the independence of the chairwoman.

He adds he is keen to meet with the new administration to make sure Plaid is committed to retaining the panel, and even enhance its work.

Pat points out that, “As well as pay and conditions, the panel also promotes careers in agriculture, horticulture and forestry and the development of a skilled workforce, vital to retaining and attracting workers.

“Hourly pay rates vary according to age and experience, covering apprentices, advanced workers and agricultural managers.”

Unite had hoped that the 10th anniversary of the panel last year would be a turning point in lifting pay and conditions in Wales.

But instead, the union had to continue campaigning for its future to make sure pay is increased above the national minimum wage, and conditions are improved in what has always been a tough industry to work in.

It’s also a difficult industry to recruit workers into a union, making it even more important that the panel continues to promote decent pay and conditions – and the chance to belong to a strong union fighting their cause.

Labour’s former deputy first minister, Huw Irranca-Davies, has previously been a strong supporter of the panel and attended a Unite rally on saving the Agricultural Wages Board.

One of his memorable phrases was, “People who pick the apple should be able to pay for it as well.”

He has been appointed to the position of presiding officer of the Welsh parliament, an important role which Unite hopes will mean he will still have influence on any decision about the future of the panel.

The new cabinet member for rural resilience, responsible for farming, is Llŷr Gruffydd.

Unite will remain resilient in its determination to retain the agricultural advisory panel in Wales.

By Alan Jones

Photo by Mark Thomas

This article first appeared in the latest edition of Landworker, Summer 2026, which you can read here.