Construction workers blacklisted for union activities to get payout

A long-running campaign for construction workers who were blacklisted for union activities has finally ended with a payout of more than £10 million.

Unite announced it had reached a settlement with construction firms which will see 256 workers receive compensation.

The union said the payouts could range from £25,000 to £200,000 per claimant, depending on factors such as loss of income and the seriousness of the defamation.

Blacklisting came to light in 2009 when the Information Commissioner's Office seized a database of more than 3,000 construction workers used by 44 companies to vet new recruits and keep out employment trade union and health and safety activists.

Some of those on the list said they were denied work, while a handful moved abroad because they could not find jobs in this country.

Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said: "The massive scale of the agreed damages shows the gravity of the misdeeds of major construction companies which created and used the Consulting Group as a vehicle to enable them to blacklist trade unionists.

"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."