The move follows protests in November at Carillion’s £150m A465 Heads of the Valleys road widening project, where workers had been required to work via umbrella companies.
Edwina Hart, the minister for economy, science and transport, has now confirmed that no worker on the A465 will be employed via an umbrella company. They will instead be employed on a standard PAYE basis either by Carillion or its in-house employment agency Skyblue.
Ms Hart also announced that she has instructed officials to change the wording of future Welsh government construction contracts to ensure that umbrella companies cannot be used in the same way again.
Trades unions have been campaigning against the use of umbrella companies since their widespread introduction into the construction industry in April 2014. (See previous report here.)
Nick Blundell, regional secretary for construction union Ucatt, said: “The use of umbrella companies is unfair and exploitative. The decision of the Welsh government to crackdown on their use both on the A465 and on all of their contracts is excellent news.”
He added: “This is a significant victory in Ucatt’s campaign against umbrella companies. It is now essential that all other public sector contracts introduce similar measures and umbrella companies are entirely outlawed.”
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