MPs have accused major UK companies of operating a “morally indefensible” blacklist of construction industry workers and of appearing to avoid taking full responsibility for their actions.
An interim report on the 11-month inquiry by the Scottish Affairs Select Committee says it rejects the ‘verbal gymnastics’ and ‘evasive wordplay’ by company executives to try to deny that the use of an unlawful database of trade union activists and others amounted to blacklisting.
The continuing inquiry has been welcomed by campaigners and by the Labour Leader Ed Miliband, who called for Coalition ministers to “ensure that action is actually taken against blacklisting.”
In their 40-page report, the committee says blacklisting ‘was done by companies who benefited as a result, since industrial relations or health and safety disputes on site could result in delays to contracts, penalty clauses being invoked and financial loss.’
As part of their investigation, MPs were given access to some of the data cards seized in a raid by officers from the information regulator on The Consulting Association which exposed the existence of the blacklist.
Comments on the cards range from “bad all round” and “showed signs of militancy over safety”, to “involved in safety strike”, “drew H&S issues to the attention of site manager” and “organised petition over homelessness”.
The card for one worker condemned him because he “might be the son of xx”. Another is described as “a shop steward. If she is not a member of the CP [Community Party] then her husband certainly is.”
Another was blacklisted for appearing to “wind the others up.”
According to the report, workers were denied employment without explanation as a result of being blacklisted, their lives were disrupted and in some cases ruined. They had no right of appeal against what the report describes as “little more than gossip”.
Publication of today’s report comes after the committee took evidence from a number of company executives and senior HR officers who were involved in the operation of the blacklist, which was set up and funded on behalf of more than 40 major building firms from 1993 until it was closed down for breaches of data protection legislation in 2009.
Committee chair, Ian Davidson MP, told UnionNews: “They regret being caught, but we’re not so sure they regret having been involved in this.
“And that is one of the issues for us.
“It’s not entirely clear how far throughout the company ethos this pattern of blacklisting actually went – whether or not it was simply a rogue individual or whether, as we think far, far more likely, it was the whole top echelon of the companies involved that knew about this and therefore have got a degree of culpability.”
The Labour leader, Ed Miliband told UnionNews: “What’s happened on blacklisting is terrible.
“I don’t think blacklisting should take place and I think we should take all necessary action against blacklisting. I hope this government will act on blacklisting.
“We forced them in the House of Commons to accept the motion we put forward on blacklisting and we need to make sure that action is actually taken against blacklisting.”
The MPs say they ‘completely reject the verbal gymnastics of some companies which asserted that, because not everyone on the blacklist was automatically refused employment, the files did not constitute a blacklist.
‘None of these records was compiled in order to assist any of the individuals involved in finding work. We note that many of the entries on blacklisting files are little more than gossip, and that whole groups of employees were blacklisted en masse.’
The inquiry is now certain to continue into a second year. The Select Committee says it wants to investigate whether any sanctions should be put in place to ensure the practice is ended for good.
The report has been welcomed by anti-blacklisting campaigners, who described the inquiry as “an enormous public service” and an important step towards a public inquiry into the practice.
The MPs intend to launch consultations on four further topics:
• Whether blacklisting continues;You can watch our film report on the Select Committee inquiry here:
• What compensation, how determined and from whom, should be provided to those individuals affected;
• Punishment — whether to accept the defence for those individuals operating the system that they were simply following orders;
• Whether changes in the law are required.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6UGdffWtzEE
And there are more details on the report and reactions from campaigners in The Active Voice podcast, which goes on-line later this morning.
Follow us on Twitter @UnionNewsUK for updates.
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