More than 60 workers across Courier Country are among hundreds of Scots illegally blacklisted from employment in the building industry.
More than 60 workers across Courier Country are among hundreds of Scots illegally blacklisted from employment in the building industry.
The revelation comes as part of shocking statistics from the GMB trade union, which is endeavouring to track down more than 3,200 workers in the UK outlawed from getting new jobs.
The existence of the list of names previously used by 44 construction companies to vet employees was revealed after an Information Commissioner’s Office raid on the premises of the Consulting Association in Worcestershire in 2009, which led to the firm being closed down.
The GMB has revealed the blacklist, which was run by the association between 1993 and 2009, includes a total of 582 individuals living or working in Scotland.
Pinpointed within the statistics are 62 Courier Country construction employees 24 from Fife, 21 from Dundee, seven from Stirling, five from Angus, three from Alloa and two from Perth and Kinross.
Reacting to the new information, Dundee West MP Jim McGovern maintained it is “vitally important” that everything is done to support and compensate victims of blacklisting and called on authorities to look into whether it remains an ongoing practice.
“Blacklisting is a deplorable activity that has ruined livelihoods for decades,” he said.
“I am shocked that 21 people in Dundee have been targeted by the unscrupulous companies who have used these lists.”
According to the GMB, many people remain unaware their careers were blighted after the Consulting Association maintained an illegal database of “undesirable” workers branding some “troublemakers” or “militant”, either for union membership or for raising health and safety concerns at their work.
The association sold checks on workers for £2.20 to more than 40 of the biggest industry players.
The GMB said it hopes its new map will encourage workers to check if they were blacklisted, as it fights for compensation.
GMB general secretary Paul Kenny said: “People have been deprived of an honest living through these illegal tactics which has blighted their families’ lives.
“They have been the victims of injustice over many years by multi-national companies, now seeking to live off public sector contracts. Not a single company has yet been punished, nor have any of them paid compensation.
“GMB is calling on local councils not to award any new public work to the companies that operated the blacklist till they compensate those they damaged.”
The new statistics comes just weeks after an investigation by the Scottish Affairs Select Committee which took evidence from blacklisted workers and those responsible for administering the blacklists.
It also heard from construction firms alleged to have used the services of organisations alleged to have compiled blacklists.
phstephen@thecourier.co.uk