Years of trade union campaigning to cut abuses in subcontracting on building sites have paid off in the form of legislation passed by Spain in October 2006. Act 32/2006 now requires building sub-contractors to satisfy a number of basic conditions, not least being able to perform and project-manage the works sub-contracted to them. The aim is to do away with the bogus intermediaries prevalent in multi-tier subcontracting. Sub-contractor firms will also have to be certified and registered.

The Act severely restricts the use of multi-tier subcontracting. As a rule, only two tiers of subcontracting will be allowed, while further sub-subcontracting and subcontracting by individual self-employed workers, become illegal. The Act attempts to limit the use of casual labour. Registered firms permitted to act as subcontractors must gradually get up to the point of having at least 30% of workers employed on unlimited term contracts on their books within three years of the Act coming into force.

The workers' reps in the different firms involved will have to be informed of all subcontracting agreements. Training for a joint rep for the workers operating on the same work site can be provided for in industry collective agreements. This Act is a valuable addition to the mobile and temporary work sites rules brought in under Community legislation. It shows the importance of the Member States going beyond the minimum provisions of Community legislation to achieve effective prevention.

• Text of the new Act [ES]