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Construction firms to compensate workers whose names were on blacklist Construction firms to compensate unlawfully blacklisted workers
(about 5 hours later)
Major construction companies are to compensate workers whose names were on a secret industry blacklist. Eight large construction firms have announced that they intend to compensate workers who were unlawfully blacklisted and denied work for long periods.
The dramatic development follows years of campaigning by unions after it was discovered that more than 3,200 names, mainly of building workers, were kept on the list, drawn up by a shadowy organisation called the Consulting Association. The firms have also apologised to the workers whose names were stored in a secret database.
Workers involved claimed they were denied work, often for merely raising legitimate concerns about health and safety on building sites. Legal action is being taken on behalf of some of those on the list. The move follows years of campaigning by the workers, who said they were often barred from working for raising legitimate concerns about health and safety on building sites. Many say their lives were devastated as they were prevented from getting jobs for years.
The eight firms announced that they were working together to develop a scheme to compensate construction workers whose names were on the Consulting Association (TCA) database. More than 40 firms in the construction industry funded a clandestine agency that kept files on more than 3,200 workers that they deemed to be politically disruptive. The blacklisting agency operated for 15 years until it was raided and closed down by a watchdog in 2009.
A statement said: "The companies – Balfour Beatty, Carillion, Costain, Kier, Laing O'Rourke, Sir Robert McAlpine, Skanska UK and Vinci plc – all apologise for their involvement with TCA and the impact that its database may have had on any individual construction worker. No details of the scheme were disclosed by the eight construction firms on Thursday. The companies – Balfour Beatty, Carillion, Costain, Kier, Laing O'Rourke, Sir Robert McAlpine, Skanska UK and Vinci – said: "The scheme is intended to make it as simple as possible for any worker with a legitimate claim to access compensation."
"The companies have joined together to establish the construction workers' compensation scheme. Representatives of the blacklisted workers gave the announcement a sceptical welcome, saying: "Forgive us if we do not crack open the champagne just yet … So far there are no firm proposals, only a vague promise of compensation for any workers with a 'legitimate claim'.
"The scheme is intended to make it as simple as possible for any worker with a legitimate claim to access compensation. "This is a cynical move intended to reduce corporate reputational damage. We do not for one second believe that these companies have suddenly seen the light. Most of the senior managers implicated in the blacklisting conspiracy are still in post. The only thing they regret is being caught."
"The companies have invited workers' representatives to enter into a period of engagement to ensure that the proposed terms of the scheme are fair and effective. The group is also engaging with other interested parties. The workers have said they intend to continue their legal claim at the high court for compensation for being blacklisted, as well as their campaign for a public inquiry "to expose everyone involved in this human rights conspiracy".
"At this time we are not able to share any further information on the proposed scheme. However, once engagement with the workers' representatives has concluded, we will announce full details of the scheme which we would like to open to applicants as soon as possible. The eight firms announced their apology for funding the blacklist and "the impact that its database may have had on any individual construction worker".
"We have discussed the scheme with a number of other construction companies. They said they had invited representatives of the blacklisted workers to talk to them to "ensure that the proposed terms of the scheme are fair and effective".
"We encourage participation from across the industry and would welcome interest from any company that had been a user of, or subscriber to, TCA. They encouraged other firms that had funded the blacklist, disguised under the anodyne name of the Consulting Association and run from a nondescript office in Droitwich, Worcestershire, to join the scheme.
"The companies involved in the scheme would support the introduction of a code of conduct to ensure nothing like this can happen within the construction industry again." Justin Bowden of the GMB trade union said: "Firms admitting they engaged in a terrible abuse of the civil rights of thousands of UK workers is an important step."
Unions welcomed the news, although some campaigners said more should be done. The Unite assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail said: "Many of these workers have spent years out of work as a result of being blacklisted. Employers have a moral duty to give them back the jobs that were wrongly taken away from them."
Justin Bowden of the GMB union said: "Firms admitting they engaged in a terrible abuse of the civil rights of thousands of UK workers is an important step. The workers also want a public inquiry to examine their claims that police secretly gathered intelligence on some of them and passed the information to the blacklisters.
"The next step is clean up and pay up. This remains our demand on the construction industry." In August, the Guardian published testimony from Peter Francis, the former undercover officer who has become a whistleblower, who said he believes that he personally collected some of the intelligence that later appeared in the blacklisting files.
The Unite assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail said: "These employers appear to be responding to union demands to 'own up, clean up and pay up'. Managers in the construction industry pooled data about individuals to maintain the secret files. When the workers applied for work, the managers would contact the association to check the entry on the potential employee and then decide whether to give them work.
"However, any proposals cannot exclude the involvement of blacklisted workers and their trade unions. The files, which contained information dating back to the 1980s, contained descriptions such as "militant ringleader", "agitator", "is a good worker but has proved to be very militant", "do not touch", and "that subject is a very bad troublemaker and would not be re-employed".
"It is now time for the unions and the employers to thrash out the details and build on these proposals, which look encouraging.
"It must be a priority to get blacklisted workers back into work. Unite is calling on contractors to employ, and where relevant support the up-skilling of blacklisted workers.
"Many of these workers have spent years out of work as a result of being blacklisted. Employers have a moral duty to give them back the jobs that were wrongly taken away from them."
The Blacklist Support Group said it was not cracking open the champagne just yet, adding: "Blacklisted workers obviously welcome the announcement of an industry-funded compensation scheme for those they deliberately victimised as part of the Consulting Association blacklisting conspiracy.
"But so far there are no firm proposals, only a vague promise of compensation for any workers with a 'legitimate claim'.
"We want every single person who is on the Consulting Association blacklist to be compensated and jobs guaranteed for blacklisted workers on major construction projects. The Blacklist Support Group looks forward to participating in the negotiations about the details of the scheme.
"Forgive us if we do not crack open the champagne just yet. We do not for one second believe that these companies have suddenly seen the light. Most of the senior managers implicated in the blacklisting conspiracy are still in post.
"The only thing they regret is being caught."
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