Huffington Post
MPs said it was a ‘scandal’ firm won lucrative Big Ben contract.
A CONSTRUCTION firm blasted by MPs after it was awarded a lucrative contract to refurbish Big Ben says it will never allow blacklisting to happen again.
Sir Robert McAlpine was one
of eight major companies who had to pay out compensation after admitting
it had penalised workers who were trade unionists or took part in union
activities.
Hundreds of construction
employees across the country lost their jobs and were unable to find
further work after they were blacklisted by industry giants through a
shadowy organisation known as ‘The Consulting Association’, which kept
lists of names.
Despite this, the government
awarded McAlpine a lucrative £29 million contract to prepare the House
of Commons’ Elizabeth Tower and Big Ben for refurbishment work.
MPs, including Labour’s
Chuka Umunna and Jack Dromey and the SNP’s Chris Stephens, said firms
that had been historically involved in blacklisting should face the consequences.
At a Westminster Hall debate
on Tuesday, Dromey, a former trade union activist, said it was “a
scandal” that McAlpine had been handed a Commons contract and GMB chief
Tim Roache said the deal should be cancelled.
McAlpine’s new CEO, Paul
Hamer, wrote to HuffPost UK following our report and said the company
was committed to making sure blacklisting “stays firmly in the past”.
“Since my arrival, it has
been one of my priorities to review the company’s HR and recruitment
functions. I am pleased to confirm that Sir Robert McAlpine complies
fully with all legislation to prevent blacklisting and is committed to
fair and transparent recruitment,” he said.
“Blacklisting in
construction was, until 2009, an industry-wide issue. Sir Robert
McAlpine admitted and apologised for its involvement with The Consulting
Association and amended its HR practices, policies and operations to
ensure that it can never happen again.”
Hamer, who joined McAlpine
just over a month ago, said his company was subject to “significant and
appropriate scrutiny” before being awarded the Commons contract, which
will see the chimes of Big Ben paused for four years while major
restorative works are carried out.
“We carefully check the
recruitment and employment practices of all our sub-contractors to
ensure they meet our own high standards,” he added.
“We have a zero tolerance
policy towards blacklisting, illegal or unfair recruitment practices. In
summary, I can assure you that blacklisting has no place now nor in the
future at Sir Robert McAlpine.”
Business minister Margot
James promised the government would look into the future awarding of
contracts to firms involved in blacklisting.
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