The extent to which major construction companies involved in public-sector projects such as the Olympics and Crossrail used blacklists to vet workers was discussed in Parliament yesterday (23 January).
During an Opposition Day debate on the blacklisting scandal moved by Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna MP the now-illegal practice by such household names as Balfour Beatty, Carillion and Sir Robert McAlpine was lambasted by MPs, who called for a full inquiry in order to prevent further use of blacklists on taxpayer-funded projects.
Referred to several times was a letter sent by a company in the Balfour Beatty group to the Olympic Delivery Authority, in which it admitted it had used the Consulting Association blacklist in 2008 to check 12 workers. Dame Tessa Jowell, Labour MP for Dulwich and West Norwood, said: “So insidious is the practice of blacklisting that Balfour Beatty felt it was OK and acceptable to check the database in relation to 12 employees.
“The fact that all 12 went on to get employment is not the point; the point is that Balfour Beatty felt that it was OK to use the practice of blacklisting to check the people out. That is completely antipathetic to the whole ethos of the development, in partnership with the trade unions, of the Olympic park.”
The day before the Parliamentary debate, the director of Sir Robert McAlpine gave evidence to the Scottish Affairs Committee that the company had undertaken blacklist checks on people seeking work on the Olympic stadium.
Cullum McAlpine confirmed that blacklisting had also taken place on a number of other projects his company was working on, including Colchester garrison, the M74 link road and an MoD facility on Salisbury Plain.
The company was namechecked by Ian Lavery MP, who told the House: “From July to September 2008, McAlpine spent £12,839 making 5836 blacklist checks—a total of 63 a day. That corresponded with McAlpine’s building of the Olympic stadium. How disgraceful can you get? A major company such as McAlpine penalising people for whatever, at the same time as having multi-million-pound government contracts, is, as many people have said, absolutely insidious.”
Mr Lavery also pointed out that Carillion has received £2.5 billion a year in public contracts “at the same time as placing ordinary citizens on blacklists and stopping them working”.
London’s current biggest infrastructure project – Crossrail – was also mentioned, following accusations by unions last week that blacklisting had taken place on it. Unite claimed that 28 workers were unfairly removed from the project last year over a dispute with a shop steward who had raised health and safety concerns.
Crossrail rejected the “unsubstantiated” claims, saying it was still awaiting evidence from Unite. Crossrail chief executive Andrew Wolstenholme said: “[We are] not aware of and have seen no evidence of blacklisting of any kind in connection with the Crossrail project. Crossrail has written to trades unions on several occasions setting out our commitment to taking firm, decisive and immediate action if any substantive evidence can be presented.”
Nevertheless, the London Assembly has called on the mayor, Boris Johnson, to provide “evidence of steps taken to ensure that no blacklisting is, or has taken place on Crossrail – a project that London taxpayers and the GLA, via TfL, are heavily invested in”.
It also called on Mr Johnson to “dissociate himself from such practices and emphasise that every employee must be protected in raising health and safety concerns without fear of reprisals”.
Ian Lavery, Labour MP for Wansbeck said there is “an urgent need for investigation into blacklisting on public-sector projects” based on all of this “powerful new evidence” presented to the Scottish Affairs Select Committee.
Secretary of State Vince Cable said that only if he receives evidence that blacklisting is continuing to occur will an investigation be ordered.
