Agenda item
In
accordance with the Notice of Motion received under Section 4.20 of the
Constitution, Councillor Elwyn Edwards will propose as follows:-
1.
That the Council asks the Cabinet to
consider officially recognising St David’s Day by giving a day's leave to its
workforce in order to celebrate our Patron Saint's Day on 1 March 2022 and
every year thereafter.
2. That the Council calls on
Westminster Government to devolve to Welsh Government the power to create bank
holidays for Wales (via the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971) -
in the same manner as already happens in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Decision:
1.
That the Council asks the Cabinet to consider
officially recognising St David’s Day by giving a day's leave to its workforce
in order to celebrate our Patron Saint's Day on 1 March 2022 and every year
thereafter.
2.
That
the Council calls on the Westminster Government to
devolve to Welsh Government the power to create bank holidays for Wales (via
the Banking and Financial Dealings
Act 1971) – in the same manner as already happens
in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Minutes:
(A) Submitted - the following notice of motion
by Councillor Elwyn Edwards in accordance with Section 4.20 of the
Constitution, and it was seconded:
1.
That the Council asks the Cabinet to consider officially recognising St David’s Day by giving a day's leave to its workforce
in order to celebrate our Patron
Saint's Day on 1 March 2022
and every year thereafter.
2. That
the Council calls on Westminster Government to devolve to Welsh Government the power to create bank holidays
for Wales (via the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971) - in the same manner
as already happens in Scotland and
Northern Ireland.
The member set out the context for his motion by
recounting some of the history of our patron saint and his significance to us
Welsh, while also emphasising that the purpose of the motion was to try to
reclaim some self-respect in terms of our distinctiveness and our national
identity.
The Cabinet Member for
Corporate Support noted:
·
She
fully agreed with the principle and supported the call to establish St David's
Day as a bank holiday in Wales.
·
In terms of the first part
of the motion, should the Council grant an additional day's leave for staff, it
was important to note that it would not be possible for the Council to grant
that day to some staff, and not other staff who
worked under the same employment terms and conditions. The additional day would
have to be granted to those staff working on St David's Day in order to take it
on another day during the year, and a cost would be associated with this should
you wish to provide the additional day for this purpose. If there was a wish to
use one of the current 1.5 additional day's leave provided by the Council to
this end, a formal consultation with recognised trade unions would need to be
undertaken, with a view to securing a collective agreement before action could
be taken.
·
In terms of the second part
of the motion, she fully supported the call as it was disgraceful and an
embarrassment that the right to create bank holidays had been granted to the
Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive, but not to Welsh
Government and she was ready to ensure that a letter would be submitted
formally to the Westminster Government.
During the discussion, the
following observations were submitted by individual members:
·
It
had been an insult to us for centuries that we did not have the right as a
country to celebrate the day of our patron saint. Cost was still the argument
but a bank holiday was an incredible boost for a rural economy and celebrating
St David's Day should be part of the Council's post-Covid
economic recovery programme.
·
It
had to be made clear that St David's Day should be a holiday for the whole nation,
and not only the workforce.
·
The
Government and every other council in Wales should fight for this.
·
This
was an excellent idea but as Council staff enjoyed much better employment terms
than employees in the private sector, the additional day's leave should be
taken from their current annual leave entitlement.
·
There
was a duty on anyone living in Wales to support our patron saint, whatever
their background and tradition.
·
Care
had to be taken that we did not discriminate between employees working within the
Council and other employees associated with Council work, but employed by
private companies, such as carers.
·
The
argument that schools needed to celebrate on 1 March did not carry weight. The
date could fall on a Saturday or Sunday and it was possible for schools to
celebrate on the nearest school day to St David's Day.
A registered vote was
called for on the motion.
According to Procedural Rules, the following
vote on the motion was recorded:
In favour (56) Councillors: Craig ab
Iago, Menna Baines, Beca Brown, Stephen Churchman, Steve Collings, R.Glyn Daniels, Elwyn Edwards, Alan Jones Evans, Aled
Evans, Peter Antony Garlick, Simon Glyn, Gareth Wyn Griffith, Selwyn Griffiths,
Alwyn Gruffydd, Annwen Hughes, John Brynmor Hughes, R.Medwyn
Hughes, Judith Humphreys, Nia Jeffreys, Peredur Jenkins, Aeron M.Jones, Aled Wyn Jones, Berwyn Parry Jones, Elin Walker
Jones, Elwyn Jones, Eric Merfyn Jones, Gareth Tudor Morris Jones, Huw Wyn
Jones, Keith Jones, Kevin Morris Jones, Eryl Jones-Williams, Cai Larsen, Dafydd
Meurig, Dilwyn Morgan, Dewi Owen, Edgar
Wyn Owen, Gwynfor Owen, Rheinallt Puw, Dewi Wyn Roberts, Elfed P.Roberts, Gareth A.Roberts, John
Pughe Roberts, Mair Rowlands, Paul Rowlinson, Dyfrig Siencyn, Mike Stevens,
Ioan Thomas, Hefin Underwood, Catrin Wager, Cemlyn Williams, Eirwyn Williams,
Elfed Williams, Gareth Williams, Gethin Glyn Williams, Gruffydd Williams and
Owain Williams.
Against (0)
Abstentions (0)
The Chair noted that the amendment had been
carried.
RESOLVED to adopt the motion, namely:
1. That
the Council asks the Cabinet to consider officially recognising St David’s Day
by giving a day's leave to its workforce in order to celebrate our Patron
Saint's Day on 1 March 2022 and every year thereafter.
2. That
the Council calls on Westminster Government to devolve to Welsh Government the
power to create bank holidays for Wales (via the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971) - in the same manner as already happens in Scotland and
Northern Ireland.
In response to a
question from a member, the Monitoring Officer confirmed that Cabinet members
had not prejudged their position in the Cabinet by voting on the matter, as the
Cabinet would only be asked to consider the matter.
Councillor Dewi
Roberts asked whether members with relatives employed by the Council should
declare an interest. In response, the
Monitoring Officer explained that, although they technically had an interest,
the matter had now been discussed and passed, and it was the responsibility of
members to determine whether or not they should declare.