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Blacklisters shamed in new report

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The extent to which major construction companies were involved in illegal blacklisting activity for over a decade has been revealed in a report from MPs. The interim report by the Scottish Affairs Committee reveals damning evidence of the nature of the 'morally indefensible' blacklisting and the lengths to which companies would go to keep it secret. Ian Davidson MP, chair of the Committee, said the companies involved 'set up the blacklist for their own financial benefit', adding: 'We are appalled by what we have discovered during our committee hearings. We were neither convinced nor impressed by the attitude of the people involved in funding, operating and using this blacklist.' Entries on the blacklist, held by The Consulting Association, reveal that people were being denied work purely for showing an interest in health and safety. Examples featured in the report include: 'While at xx, drew H&S issues to the attention of site manager been moved with two others (to avoid suspicion)'; and 'After taking on showed signs of militancy over safety.' TUC head of safety Hugh Robertson said: 'I sat through evidence sessions where the Chief Executives of construction companies were still denying that they ever blacklisted anyone for anything, let alone for health and safety reasons.' He added: 'In fact even now the companies have shown no sign of remorse. No-one has fully admitted what they did and said they will take action to redress the damage they caused. No-one has shown any sign that they have any regret for destroying the lives of hundreds of workers, in fact quite the opposite. They are fighting tooth and nail so they do not have to pay a penny of compensation for their illegal actions.' He said a commitment from the Scottish government to work with unions on guidance for future procurement processes and public contracts 'is a start.' The Blacklist Support Group, the union-backed grassroots campaign which has made the issue a major political concern, is calling for a full public apology from the firms linked to blacklisting, compensation for blacklisted workers, no public contracts for blacklisting firms and jobs for blacklisted workers on major projects.

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