Bullying in the construction industry — the blacklisting scandal

A shocking example of institutional bullying in recent years has been the uncovering of evidence of a culture of systemic blacklisting of workers by 44 top employers in the construction industry. A secret blacklist of the names of 3,213 workers — overwhelmingly trade unionists — run by an organisation known as the Consulting Association, was in routine use in the industry, going back to the late 1960s until it was uncovered in 2009 following an investigation by the Information Commissioners Office. Senior HR managers contributed data about the workers to the list.

Information might include, for example, a person’s name, address, national insurance number, work history, attempts to find work, photos, details of car, safety rep credentials, newspaper cuttings, details about family members, and in some cases, even details about attendance at political meetings, that can only have been supplied by the police.

Names of job applicants were checked against the blacklist in return for a fee and individuals were refused work for years, for “crimes” such as raising concerns about asbestos, toilet facilities which flooded on an almost daily basis, uncovered holes, lack of safety training, fire points and dangerous handrails. The blacklist has been described by Professor Keith Ewing of Kings College, London as “the worst human rights abuse in relation to workers” in the UK for 50 years.

A report by the GMB union, Blacklisting — illegal corporate bullying: endemic, systemic and deep-rooted in Carillion and other companies, is available to download at: www.gmb.org.uk/pdf/The%20Carillion%20Blacklist%20v12%20%281%29.pdf

New regulations — the Employment Relations Act 1999 (Blacklists) Regulations 2010 — were enacted in response to the blacklisting scandal, but two years on, weaknesses in these regulations mean that they are widely regarded by campaigners as inadequate as a means of providing effective redress for victims of blacklisting. Campaigners are now pursuing other avenues of redress, including an ongoing inquiry by the Scottish Affairs Committee of the Houses of Parliament into blacklisting, a claim by UCATT in the European Court of Human Rights, and a class action for compensation in the High Court by blacklisted workers.