less , it is probable that farmers will cave into paying their workers less to reduce their prices and passing on these " savings " to their clients . Not only will the multi-million pound agricultural industry stop serving its poor labourers , it will stop serving the farmers as well . The only benefactor of these reforms are supermarket giants .
It seems the Coalition was well aware of the flaws to its plans and the strength of the opposition they would face , as they took every opportunity possible to avoid debate - particularly in Wales where such attacks on agricultural workers are extremely unwelcome among politicians and the people .
The Public Bodies Act of 2011 states that any changes to the AWB must be presented to the people , and to the government , in the following manner :
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A 12-week consultation must be undertaken Alternatives must be considered A full explanation must be given to both Houses of Parliament A special memorandum must be laid before the House before the change to law would be considered
Instead , the government ' s consultation on its policies lasted for only four weeks in England , and a shocking one week in Wales
The government then held back from entering the amendment into the ERR Bill until two days before Christmas , just as it was being passed to the House of Lords . At no time before the abolition of the AWBs was enshrined in the ERRA were the plans debated by elected representatives in the House of Commons and with fierce opposition seen in the House of Lords and the proposals being initially rejected by peers , it can be argued that the Coalition ' s explanation for its actions was also far from " full ".
" I am afraid the government are on somewhat dodgy procedural and legal grounds ," Lord Whitty stated .
" Here we sit : one week in Wales on the abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board when we know there is absolutely no support whatever for its abolition in Wales . No wonder it is a week . People should be grateful , should they not ? Why not a day ? Christmas Eve would no doubt have produced the result the government wanted . The way the minister ' s department has acted is , frankly , a disgrace ," he added .
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