In the second round of voting on the Advisory Board which it is hoped will fill the void left by the abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board in England and Wales, Welsh Assembly Members yesterday backed Natural Resources Minister Alun Davies' emergency proposals on farm wages.

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The AWB established pay and conditions for upwards of 150,000 agricultural workers, including 13,000 in Wales, through negotiations between representatives of the NFU, Unite and the government, but its fate was sealed in Parliament last month and the board will be officially scrapped with the end of the current agricultural wage order in October.

On Wednesday, Welsh AMs passed emergency measures brought in to protect the country's agricultural workers from the ill-effects of AWB abolition, which critics maintain will amount to a redistribution of wealth from workers to their employers. The bill passed despite a number of opposition ministers voicing concern over the Advisory Panel's lack of independence in the policy as it currently stands. The emergency measures were used to secure protection for Wales' agricultural workers before AMs break for the summer recess.  

The Welsh government, backed by the majority of Wales' industry groups, claims workers in agriculture are in need of the protection provided by a wage board because "The agricultural sector is distinct from other[s] by its structure and the type of physical work required." They elaborate, "A significant number of agricultural workers are non-permanent employees: around a third of all agricultural sector workers in England and Wales. Moreover, agricultural employees are required to work long hours and to perform highly physical and dangerous tasks."

It was recognition of these conditions in a number of low paid, high-risk sectors that led to the creation of the wage boards, most of which were done away with under Margaret Thatcher. The loss of the AWB will mark the demise of England's last wage board, but the devolved governments of Scotland and Northern Ireland have opted to keep theirs.

Although the UK government maintains that the board's closure will bring agriculture into line with other industries, simplifying regulations within the sector, and that workers will be protected by minimum wage legislation, workers' advocates and trade unions have pointed out that the graded pay scheme maintained under the AWB, as well as provisions for protective clothing, working animals and tied in housing specific to agriculture will disappear.

Reacting to Wednesday's vote, the Natural Resources Minister said, "Swift and decisive action was necessary to ensure we are able to provide continuous support to our agricultural sector beyond 1 October. I am very pleased that we have passed a bill that will strengthen our agricultural industry and protect our rural communities."

However, Conservatives accused the Minister of showing "contempt" for those involved in examining legislation, by bringing the bill as an emergency measure; they claim he had ample time to follow due process before the board's abolition was secured. On the other hand, Plaid Cymru ministers attacked Davies' failure to tackle "exploitative [and] Victorian" zero hour contracts.

Before the bill becomes law, it must be given Royal assent. It could still be thrown out if the UK government decides that the emergency measures constitute an attempt to change employment law, the same grounds on which Whitehall circumvented consultation with Cardiff before the AWB legislation was added to a parliamentary bill last year.