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Nine companies put 1108 workers on construction industry blacklist

25 Sep 13 A report published this week reveals further details of the construction blacklist run by the now defunct Consulting Association on behalf of the major contractors.

Macfarlanes LLP, solicitors acting for Sir Robert McAlpine, has disclosed that nine major construction firms provided the names of 1,108 workers to be placed on the construction industry blacklist.

Balfour Beatty and the companies it took over provided 302 names; BAM and the companies it took over provided 34 names; Carillion and the companies it took over provided 137 names; Costain and the companies it took over provided 70 names; Laing O’ Rourke and the companies it took over provided 85 names; Kier provided 229 names; Skanska and the companies it took over provided 75 names; Vinci and the companies it took over provided 64 names; and Amec and the companies it took over provided 42 names.

This information is set out in a new GMB publication on blacklisting that was published at a meeting on “blacklisting the blacklisters” at the Labour Party conference in Brighton on 23 September.

GMB lawyers lodged claims in the High Court in London in June seeking compensation for 70 union members blacklisted by Carillion, Sir Robert McAlpine and other construction employers.

Blacklisting came to light when in 2009 the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) seized a Consulting Association database of 3,213 construction workers and environmental activists used by 44 companies to vet new recruits and keep out of employment trade union and health and safety activists. Over 60% of those on the blacklist were aged between 30 and 50 in the mid1990s. They were mainly trade union activists on construction sites.

Macfarlanes has had access to the ICO files and has set out in McAlpine’s defence the amount each company spent with the Consulting Association, how many names they submitted to be placed on the blacklist and how many people they denied work to. The figures are in the table below:

Company

Previous names

Amount spent

 total references providing information to TCA

references refusing to permit workers to work on their sites

Balfour Beatty Engineering Services Ltd

Balfour Kilpatrick Ltd

£49,357.90

114

154

Balfour Beatty CE Ltd

Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering Ltd

£48,425.80

Balfour Beatty Engineering Services (HY) Ltd

Hayden Young Ltd

£4,266.85

3

11

Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Services Ltd

Raynesway Construction Southern Ltd

£3,002.70

Balfour Beatty Construction Ltd

Balfour Beatty Construction Northern Ireland

£6,451.50

Balfour Beatty Construction Scottish and Southern Ltd

Balfour Beatty Stonemasonry Ltd

£300.00

Balfour Beatty Third Parties

£111,804.75

302

187

BAM Construction Ltd

HBG Construction Ltd

£26,935.00

15

BAM Construct UK Ltd

HBG UK Ltd

BAM Nuttall Ltd

Edmund Nuttall Ltd

£38,371.85

19

BAM Third Parties

£65,306.85

34

2

Carillion Engineering Ltd

Crown House Engineering Ltd

£70,608.25

114

104

Carillion Construction Ltd

Tarmac Construction Ltd

Carillion JM Ltd

Mowlem Ltd

£20,630.50

23

3

Carillion Third Parties

£91,238.75

137

107

Costain Group PLC

£32,860.75

Costain Ltd

Costain Civil Engineering Ltd

Costain Building & Civil Engineering Ltd

Costain UK Ltd

Costain Third Parties

£32,860.75

70

17

Laing Ltd

£147,756.00

Laing Construction Ltd

Laing Construction PLC

Crown House Technologies Ltd

£22,852.15

Laing O'Rourke Services Ltd

Laing O'Rourke Utilities Ltd

Laing Construction Utilities Ltd

John Laing Construction Ltd

Laing O'Rourke Third Parties

£170,608.15

85

87

Kier Ltd

£30,620.35

229

Skanska Construction UK Ltd

Kvaerner Construction Ltd / Trafalgar House Construction Special Projects

Skanska UK PLC

Skanska Construction Group Ltd / Kvaerner Construction Group Ltd /  Trafalgar House Construction Ltd

Skanska Rashleigh Weatherfoil Ltd

Kvaerner Rashleigh Weatherfoil Ltd

Skanska Major Projects Ltd

Skanska SNG / Skanska Whessoe Ltd

Cementation Skanska Ltd

Kvaerner Cementation Foundations Ltd

Skanska Third Parties

£215,842.70

75

103

VINCI PLC

Norwest Holst Group

£40,182.65

62

27

Taylor Woodrow Construction

£16,383.00

2

5

Vinci Third Parties

£56,565.65

64

32

AMEC Building Ltd

Fairclough Building Ltd / Fram Gerrard Ltd

14

1

AMEC Construction Ltd

18

22

AMEC Design and Prokect Services Ltd

AMEC Group Ltd

AMEC (MHL) Ltd

Matthew Hall Ltd

10

17

AMEC Third Parties

£69,276.85

42

40

TOTAL

£844,124.80

1,108

595

GMB national officer Justin Bowden said: “Carillion, who have yet to compensate any of their victims, claim that they stopped blacklisting in 2004. GMB would like know when and how they removed the 137 names of construction workers that they supplied to the blacklist which was in operation until 2009 when it was shut down.”

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