Lord Leigh of Hurley (Con)

My Lords, I shall speak principally to my Amendment 20 in respect of optional alternative arrangements. I thank the Minister for his letter of last night setting out the position on optional remuneration arrangements. I think it is fair to say that was already in the public domain and raises questions on second reading. The letter does not provide any illumination on interpretation of what an optional remuneration arrangement is in certain scenarios; we have discussed those scenarios at previous readings. Perhaps the one to highlight is collective bargaining. It is disappointing that there are not many Labour Peers here with a union background as there were earlier this afternoon. Imagine a collective bargaining situation where there are two options on the table. First, a 5% pay increase with employer pension contributions staying at 8%, and, secondly, a 4% pay increase—lower than 5%—but with an increased employer pension contribution of 10%. If the workers take the latter option, is this an optional remuneration arrangement? I think, by the definitions given, that it is. Are the unions ready for this? Be assured that, if the Bill goes through, we will pursue this, and unions will find, to their horror, that their members are paying national insurance, which they did not think would be the case.