Part of 1. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:46 pm on 7 March 2017.
Leanne Wood
Plaid Cymru
1:46,
7 March 2017
The Wales Act implements a heavy list of restrictions, and industrial relations is one of those restrictions. We heard from the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee yesterday that the UK Government intends to legislate on industrial relations once the Wales Act 2017 is in force—they use the words ‘at the earliest opportunity’.
If you want to reduce strike action, the best way isn’t through legal restrictions but through negotiation, dialogue and a social partnership approach that is advocated by a Majority of people in this Assembly. You’ve said that you still intend to take the trade union Bill through this Assembly. What is your plan to ensure that its provisions are not overruled by the UK Government?
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
A group of workers who have united to promote their common interests.
The term "majority" is used in two ways in Parliament. Firstly a Government cannot operate effectively unless it can command a majority in the House of Commons - a majority means winning more than 50% of the votes in a division. Should a Government fail to hold the confidence of the House, it has to hold a General Election. Secondly the term can also be used in an election, where it refers to the margin which the candidate with the most votes has over the candidate coming second. To win a seat a candidate need only have a majority of 1.
