£10m compensation for blacklisted construction workers

CONSTRUCTION group Carillion must pay part of £10m compensation after the end of a legal battle into the blacklisting of workers.

The Wolverhampton-based group is one of 30 companies that must compensate 256 workers, whose pay-outs could range from £25,000 up to £200,000 per claimant, depending on such factors as the loss of income and the seriousness of the defamation.

The blacklisting saw hundreds of workers lose those jobs and blocked from employment with other companies because of their involvement in trade union activities.
 
Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said: “The massive scale of the agreed damages – more than £10m – shows the gravity of the misdeeds of these major construction companies which created and used the Consulting Group as a vehicle to enable them to blacklist trade unionists on behalf of more than 30 construction companies.
 
“The sums to be paid out go a considerable way to acknowledge the hurt, suffering and loss of income our members and their families have been through over many years.
 
“Under the agreement they can once more apply for jobs in the construction industry without fear of discrimination.
 
The Unite case centred on a number of key legal issues, including defamation, breaches of the 1988 Data Protection Act, conspiracy and misuse of private information.

Carillion has previously denied that it took part in illegal blacklisting of workers.