The announcement today that eight of the 44 contractors accused of blacklisting are setting up a compensation scheme to help up to 3,124 workers affected by the practice is mightily welcome and long overdue. And the whole of the industry should recognise that. Not only has it deprived too many people of a living, the blacklisting saga has yet again reinforced some of the public’s prejudices that construction is a macho, neanderthal industry rather than the wonderful and dynamic sector it actually is much of the time.
Ever since the practice was exposed in 2009, the issue has met largely with a wall of silence. While no one is condoning blacklisting, and firms like Carillion, Skanska and Balfour Beatty have apologised, generally the industry’s line has been that “the practice is historic, it wasn’t even illegal until 2010, and we need to move on”. As a general talking point, it’s hardly got past the zero on the volume dial.
But I’m sorry – the industry seems to have been completely oblivious to how its actions have been perceived in the wider public and how damaging to its image the practice has been. Rather than contrite, it has come across simply as being in denial. And it appears to have totally misjudged the political ramifications. In an era when unions don’t get much sympathy with the public, this was one cause that the moderate man could relate to and see as downright unjust for people to be locked out of a sector purely for their general bolshiness.
As a consequence politicians of all parties could feel safe in encouraging the unions in their unflagging campaign for justice for people like John, a qualified electrician who’s been struggling to make a living since 2003 when he was kicked off a police station job in London after a week and a half.
His crime? “I complained about the state of the facilities – there was no soap or hot water and people were bullied to cut corners and work unsafely and I stood up for myself,” he said. He’s now one of dozens of workers set to bring class actions in the High Court to claim compensation for their treatment.
Moves to remove accused firms from tender lists of public sector work, and even banning Carillion from taking a stand at the Labour party conference, were signs that apart from anything else, blacklisting was potentially going to start hitting companies’ bottom lines. It certainly can’t have been easy bringing the eight firms together, especially as some would appear to be more culpable than others. But taking the ostrich approach to public relations was never going to win – and though it’s taken longer than it should have, it’s entirely proper for the good of the blacklisting victims and the good of the industry to see the eight firms raise their heads out of the sand. Let’s hope more join them.
