Month: February 2016

Britain’s blacklisting scandal, which saw thousands of construction union reps victimised or denied work for raising safety concerns, provides ‘clear proof’ of the dangers posed by the government’s Trade Union Bill.

TUC head of safety, Hugh Robertson, says the first tranche of compensation settlements – amounting to £5.6m shared between 71 workers – “are no recompense for the thousands of ruined lives that resulted from the illegal actions of these companies, but they do show the importance of being in a union.”

Writing in the Left Foot Forward blog, he noted: “Without the support that the GMB, Unite and UCATT gave and the work they did with the incredible Blacklist Support Group, the workers would have either received nothing, or, at the very least, some token amount.” He said more cases were due before the High Court in May, but added: “Of course it is more than just about money.

The unions also want to protect future workers, which is why they are pushing for a full inquiry into blacklisting and strong laws to make sure that this scandal is never repeated. The Trade Union Bill is an attempt to stop us doing that by making it harder for us to recruit and represent members, campaign, and strike.”

He warned that the Bill would give the Certification Officer new powers to investigate membership records, even where no complaints have been made. “This all raises concerns about the confidentiality of union membership and activism,” Robertson notes.

“The blacklisting scandal is clear proof of why we need trade unions. Workers need them to ensure they are protected and, when things go wrong, to fight for their rights against employers, through the courts and to campaign for action from governments.

Victims of a construction industry blacklist which targeted union safety activists have been awarded up to £200,000 compensation for having their working lives blighted.

The Mirror reports that so far 71 former bricklayers and carpenters have received “full and final settlements” worth £5.6m from major construction companies. Payouts averaged £80,000 each, but some were as high as £200,000 to compensate workers for years when they were denied employment because they were illegally on a secret blacklist. Many were denied work on construction sites for raising health and safety issues, trade union activity or had been branded “troublemakers.”

The construction union UCATT, which was fighting a legal battle for compensation for the workers, said the deal was a “first significant milestone” for blacklisted workers. Other cases involving hundreds of blacklisted workers are pending with the backing of the unions Unite and GMB, and the Blacklist Support Group, as well as UCATT. The defendants – Balfour Beatty, Carillion, Costain, Kier, Laing O’Rourke, Sir Robert McAlpine, Skanska UK and Vinci plc – are due in court in May.

Brian Rye, UCATT’s acting general secretary, said: “This initial tranche of compensation is the first significant milestone in the battle to win justice for blacklisted workers.”

Dave Smith of the Blacklist Support Group said many workers wanted the blacklisting firms to face the courts. He said the industry giants “know they are guilty as sin and are desperate to protect their corporate brand. But the millions they will be ordered to pay by the High Court will be dwarfed by the potential billions they could lose out on if banned from government and local authority contracts across Europe.”

He added: “By covertly targeting union safety reps, these companies appear to have given themselves a competitive advantage, as implementing proper health and safety measures on major projects has obvious financial consequences. Blacklisting is a human rights scandal but it might also be viewed as a secret cartel. I’m looking forward to the trial in May.”

Labour’s John McDonnell, the Shadow Chancellor, commented in a statement: “The blacklisting of workers in the construction industry who raised concerns about safety is a national scandal. Those companies that caused untold suffering to thousands of honest hard working families are the unacceptable face of capitalism.

“Labour will do everything in our power to ensure that taxpayers’ money is only given to companies with the highest ethical standards by ensuring that public contracts are not awarded to companies involved in serious human rights violations.”