The Welsh Assembly has moved to reject a legislative consent motion that would have set the foundation for the UK government's abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board for England and Wales.

The Welsh Government motion comes after AMs accused the Westminster government of seeking to circumvent consultation with Cardiff over the board's dissolution.

Mick Antoniw, a vocal supporter of the AWB, described the government decision to add legislation relating to the board's closure to the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, rather than a public bodies bill, hours before parliament broke up for Christmas as "underhand". Doing this meant the government could avoid seeking consent from the Welsh government.

The Welsh Assembly voted on Tuesday to reject the legislative consent motion and the Welsh agricultural minister has now written to Defra to ask that Wales be excluded from the legislation.

The Welsh government motion was welcomed by trade union Unite on Thursday. The Union's national officer for agriculture Julia Long said, "It is refreshing to see that one government – the Welsh government – is standing up for agricultural workers. We applaud the actions of those members of the Welsh Assembly who voted against consent to abolish the AWB. There is still time to stop the abolition of the AWB and for the UK government and parliament to do the right thing."

The union, which is pushing to save the AWB, gained some success by lobbying peers before the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill's latest reading in the House of Lords. Some peers showed dissent in the Lords, halting the bill at the committee stage until March.