Boot out the blacklisters

There is no place in Scotland for companies who blacklist workers for speaking out about health and safety issues or for belonging to a trade union. Calton fully supports the workers who held a rally in Dundee today against the practice of blacklisting. Their requests that companies that use blacklists are banned from getting future government contracts and that a full inquiry into the practice is held are entirely justified. The Scottish Government has said that it is opposed to blacklisting. It now needs to put its money where its mouth is and make sure that companies tendering for government contracts are properly vetted to ensure that their hiring procedures are above board. Just saying that they are 'not aware' of any blacklisting taking place is not enough. Men have lost their livelihoods just for raising concerns in their workplace. This then deters others from speaking out for fear of suffering the same fate in this time of recession. The result is that health and safety in the construction industry becomes the casualty. Our workers deserve better.