MP David Heath's surgery besieged by farm wages board protest
Unite trade union members and Frome Labour Party members held a protest outside Frome Library where the town's MP David Heath was holding his surgery.
The protest was against the abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board (AWB) and Mr Heath's support of the decision to end what he described as a "costly relic of a previous age".
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Unite trade union and Frome Labour Party members protest against the abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board outside Frome Library where MP David Heath was holding his surgery
The AWB sets the pay and conditions of agricultural workers. Unite are campaigning against its abolition and said that 60 per cent of responses to the Government's consultation were in favour of retention.
In its submissions Unite has argued that supermarkets, and the growers who supply them, were behind moves to abolish AWB in order to drive down labour costs.
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The protest in Frome was sparked by Mr Heath's support of the abolition. According to protestors, in opposition he signed an early day motion in Parliament along with other MPs who were opposed to the disappearance of the board.
Frome branch secretary Julia Gray said: "Along with tuition fees, welfare benefits, regional pay and many other issues, this is a complete U-turn by Mr Heath and the Lib Dems. When Mr Heath was appointed Farming Minister he promised to work for constituents but it is now clear this does not include the 26,000 agricultural workers in the South West."
Mr Heath responded by saying that the AWB was once an essential protection for farm workers.
He added: "But the Labour Party and the unions seem to ignore the raft of other employment protections put in place over recent years such as the national minimum wage and the gang masters licensing legislation which mean that the AWB is now a costly relic of a previous age.
"The last of a large number of wages boards which have since been abolished. I suspect that few of the protesters actually work on the land and therefore they don't realise that good cowmen, for instance, are hard to come by and certainly valued by their employers.
"I also regret the fact that they think it's appropriate to demonstrate at a public library when I am holding an advice surgery and trying to provide help and support for my constituents."
2 Comments
by Syrrets
Thursday, February 21 2013, 10:04PM
“I voted for David Heath at the last election but since he has been Farm Minister he has been a huge disappointment - he has repeatedly betrayed those who voted for him on a whole raft of issues, not just the Agricultural Wages Board, but also university tuition fees, slaughtering our badger population against the best scientific advice, failing to protect bees from pesticide poisoning, failing to ban wild animals in circuses, and so on and so on. David Heath has well and truly 'gone native' with his Conservative colleagues in the Coalition Government - it is all very sad and disappointing. I very much doubt that I will be voting for David Heath again.”
by agworker1
Thursday, February 21 2013, 9:52PM
“As a farm worker and one of those protesting outside Mr Heath's surgery I found his comments both out of touch and offensive.
We will continue to ask Mr Heath questions on his attempt to abolish essential pay protection from low paid vulnerable workers and to highlight to his constituents the breathless hypocrisy of his current position.
When in opposition he was happy to sign an Early Day Motion in Parliament defending the Board and calling it an essential protection for vulnerable rural workers, all of this 14 months after the National Minimum Wage came into force. It is also clear that he and his Tory colleagues are busy trying to undermine the Gangmasters Licensing Authority with its protection against exploitation.
Farm workers stand to loose over £24 million each year (DEFRA's own figures) if Mr Heath gets his way, such wage deflation will impact on every rural worker no matter how skilled.
The reality is that since getting his backside into a ministerial limo Mr Heath has lost touch with ordinary working people who are already in the frontline of austerity cuts and a dramatic increase in the cost of living.
Our peaceful protest outside Frome library was well received by local people who supported our cause and were not aware that, as with tuition fees, Mr Heath's commitment only lasted until he had their vote.
As farm workers we will continue to fight for the Board and to defend low paid vulnerable workers from Mr Heath and his Tory friends, see you all again soon.”