The Secretary of State, the Rt Hon. , has today announced
the appointment of Grace Nesbitt as the new Chairperson of the
Agricultural Wages Board and Gerard Laverty and Kevin
McCabe as Independent Board Members. In the absence of Ministers
in the Northern Ireland Executive, these appointments were made
possible by the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act
2022.
The new Chair and Members will take up their positions on 29
January 2024.
Grace Nesbitt MBE
Grace Nesbitt, OBE, brings a wealth of experience in industrial
relations and negotiations gained through her professional career
in human resources, formerly in the Northern Ireland Civil
Service. Grace is the Chair of the Board of Governance of the
Jersey Audit Office and also an Independent Member of the Audit
and Risk Committee in Antrim and Newtownabbey Council.
Gerard Laverty
Gerard Laverty brings significant experience in the areas of
human resources, negotiations and conflict resolution across his
career as a Human Resources Manager at the North-Eastern
Education and Library Board. Gerard is a former member of
Independent Appeals Committees at the Labour Relations Agency and
is a qualified workplace mediator.
Kevin McCabe
Kevin McCabe has extensive experience in industrial relations and
negotiations across his career in the public sector working for
the Northern Ireland Public Sector Alliance. He is a former Fair
Employment Commissioner and panel member of the Office of the
Industrial Tribunals and Fair Employment Tribunals. Kevin
currently serves as a Board Member of the Labour Relations
Agency.
Details of body
The function of the AWB is principally to set rates of wages and
related conditions for agricultural workers. The work of
independent members involves examining all of the relevant
factors in determining fair and reasonable settlement of the
annual pay award.
Terms Of Appointment
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The Chair and Member roles require a commitment of up to 5
days per annum.
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The Chair and Member appointments to the AWB are for a
three-year term.
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The Chairperson post is remunerated at £294 per meeting to
include preparation and attendance.
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The Member post is remunerated at £152 per meeting to include
preparation and attendance.
Regulation
The procedure for these appointments is designed to adhere to the
Code of Practice issued by the Commissioner for Public
Appointments for Northern Ireland. This means that the process
will be based on merit after a fair, open and transparent process
that involves independent scrutiny. A copy of the code can be
found at: https://www.publicappointmentsni.org/
Political Activity
All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays
no part in the selection process. However, the Commissioner
for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland requires the
political activity of appointees to be published. The appointees
have not declared any political activity in the last 5 years.
