Blacklisted-26

Chapter 10 Endnotes

1 Speech to BSG Conference, March 2013.

2 ‘Blacklist compensation scheme on brink of collapse’, The Construction Index, 2 June 2014, nin.tl/brinkofcollapse – accessed 15 June 2014.

3 Socialist Worker, 20 November 2013, nin.tl/BLdayofaction

4 Hazards blacklist blog, 21 November 2013, nin.tl/MilibandBLcall

5 Blacklisting in Employment, interim report from the Scottish Affairs Select Committee, p 5, nin.tl/SelCommreport

6 Letter sent to Conservative MP Stephen McPartland and Labour MP Kevin Hopkins.

7 The MPs wrote to all the companies they could find who had subscribed to the association asking what they were doing to put things right. Some, such as Costain, responded with minimal detail. NG Bailey said that it ‘has put in place compliance measures to ensure this mistake is never repeated’ (letter dated 6 February 2014). Similarly Morgan Sindall said an internal inquiry had been carried out and new systems and procedures had been put in place. Amec explained that it was a subsidiary that had worked with TCA but that had been wrong and the company abhorred the practice. The Shepherd Group took a similar position, adding that even subscribing was not in itself evidence of blacklisting. Some, such as Laing O’Rourke and Vinci, highlighted the fact that they were part of a formal compensation scheme. BAM has put a statement on its website (see bam.co.uk/who-we-are/tca) which says they have given staff training on data protection, increased whistleblower protection and asked staff to check contractors are operating appropriately. Skanska gave one of the most detailed responses, highlighting similar internal action to BAM, with training on data protection for staff. It added: ‘Ethical dilemmas are discussed at management meetings to keep the code of conduct and ethical behaviour high on the agenda within the company. In addition, under a new programme called “What do you think?” driven by our Ethics Action Group, employees across the organization are being encouraged to discuss ethical dilemmas, further raising the profile of ethics in the business’ (Letter, 4 December 2013). Kier said that it had given written briefings to HR managers on how to conduct reference-checking appropriately and training programmes for those managing the workforces on site. Carillion had been happy to disclose at Dave Smith’s Employment Tribunal that it had blacklisted him because it knew that the law meant it was not regarded as his employer and therefore was not liable for him losing his job. Its response to the MPs was one of the swiftest they received. Chief executive Richard Howson struck a much more emollient tone, saying that it ‘prides itself on its values and high standards of corporate governance and does not condone or engage in blacklisting’. As well as joining in the industry-backed compensation scheme, Carillion said: ‘We have written to all our suppliers to make absolutely clear that we do not, under any circumstances, condone subscribing to or using any blacklist or similar referencing service to vet potential employees without their knowledge.’ McAlpine’s said that it supported a Code of Conduct to prevent this happening again. All the responses can be seen here: nin.tl/corpresponses

8 ‘Blacklisting: Human impact’, Building, 31 May 2013, nin.tl/BLhumanimpact – accessed June 17 2014.

9 Hazards blacklist blog, 25 November 2014, nin.tl/CIPDblunder

10 Independent, 17 November 2013, nin.tl/BLcomp100k

11 SASC, ‘Blacklisting in Employment: addressing the crimes of the past, moving towards best practice’, 12 March 2014.

12 Early Day Motion 220 Compensation for Blacklisted Workers 7 July 2014.

13 Labour Representation Committee, 8 July 2014, nin.tl/BSGLRCnews

14 London Evening Standard, 20 November 2013, nin.tl/BLpledge

15 ‘Police were briefed on industry extremists and bad eggs’, Times, 23 January 2013.

16 Interview with Adam Smith reported in Hazards blacklist blog, nin.tl/CameronBLno

17 http://www.building.co.uk/political-donations-mixing-in-politics/5042829.article

18 Speech to BSG AGM 2013.

19 Interview with the authors.