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The Secretary of State, the Rt Hon. Chris Heaton-Harris MP, has today announced聽 the appointment of Grace Nesbitt as the new Chairperson of the Agricultural聽 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.聽聽

The new Chair and Members will take up their positions on 29 January 2024.聽聽

Grace Nesbitt OBE

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 聽

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聽聽

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聽

The function of the AWB is principally to set rates of wages and related conditions for聽 agricultural workers. The work of independent members involves examining all of the聽 relevant factors in determining fair and reasonable settlement of the annual pay award.聽聽

Terms Of Appointment 聽

• The Chair and Member roles require a commitment of up to 5 days per annum.聽聽

• The Chair and Member appointments to the AWB are for a three-year term.

• The Chairperson post is remunerated at 拢294 per meeting to include聽 preparation and attendance.聽聽

• The Member post is remunerated at 拢152 per meeting to include preparation and attendance.聽聽

搁别驳耻濒补迟颈辞苍听听

The procedure for these appointments is designed to adhere to the Code of Practice聽 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/聽聽

Political Activity聽聽

All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection聽 process. However, the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland聽 requires the political activity of appointees to be published. The appointees have not declared any political activity in the last 5 years.