Minister, just over one year ago, a long-established family firm, Rhys Davies Logistics, based in Taff's Well in my constituency, was acquired by Cathay Investments, an English-based company with interests in logistics, chemicals, many other areas. The new owners described it at the time as the deal of the month, saying that it

'will enable RDL to flourish into the future...and we are confident that exciting times lie ahead.'

So, barely a week ago and barely a fortnight before Christmas, the loyal workforce in Taff's Well and other depots turned up for work, only to be kept waiting in the cold for several hours and then handed their redundancy notices and told they would not be paid. The only option is to apply to the UK Government's Insolvency Service for payment, and this may take many months.

Now, the way these workers have been treated, Minister, is a disgrace, and it does expose the poor state of employment rights in this country. What is coming to light is a company that appears to have been either grossly mismanaged or deliberately run down, where workers have been furloughed on a rota, whilst, at the same time, agency workers were taken on to do work of the furloughed workers in what may be an abuse of the job retention scheme. Minister, I've written to you about this, but I wonder whether you will carry out an investigation into what has happened at this company, to be sure there's been no abuse of public funds and to ascertain the reasons for its sudden collapse. I am certainly grateful for the speedy response of your officials in meeting with me the other day, and the work being done by Unite the Union to support their members.

So, what support can Welsh Government give to prospective buyers for this company, and in particular, what support can be given to the workforce? Minister, I know that employment law is a reserved matter, but will you consider ways in which Welsh Government can, in future, give support to workers who are faced with such dire treatment? I know that the Wales Trades Union Congress have, in the past, raised the idea of what I'd call a workers' solidarity fund; maybe in the current economic circumstances, there's merit in revisiting this proposal. So, I wonder if you would give this your consideration in support of the workers at Rhys Davies and others in the future.