The UK's second-largest construction company,
employing around 20,000 people in the UK, buckled under the weight of a
whopping £1.5bn debt pile.
Dave Smith, a successful Engineer who had the pick of engineering jobs
throughout London, was employed by Carillion.
In 1998 he was driving a 4 x 4 vehicle but by 2000 he could not even get
a job as an Engineer, despite the longest building boom this country has ever
known. He even stopped receiving calls from employment agencies.
All this because he was brave enough to complain about the dangers of
asbestos on construction sites and attempted to improve health and safety
conditions through union activism. Sadly, for Dave this resulted in selling
personal belongings, defaulting mortgage payments and borrowing from friends
and family.
The Carillion blacklisting scandal was aired on BBC Radio 4. The
company had been paying The Consulting Association to keep files on Dave and
circulate a blacklist, with his name, among 40 construction companies. The
blacklist had thousands of names on it, meaning Carillion had been complicit in
one of the biggest industrial scandals in British history. Dave was one of the “lucky”
ones to be affected - unfortunately for others this outrageous scandal left
hundreds of workers homeless, without family and some sadly took their own
lives.
Dave’s ongoing battle with Carillion meant he was able to help found
the Blacklisted Support Group and take Carillion to Court but following the
demise of Carillion Dave and many others who suffered at the hands of the
company may never see the directors face legal action.
Not a penny of public money should be given to the
bosses of Carillion -if the government has another magic money tree hidden away
somewhere it should bail out the NHS - not Carillion or their bankers.
Rizzwana Bashir - Trainee Solicitor
For further information on Employment Rights please visit our website or call 0033 3344 9603 and ask to speak with our Employment Rights team.
For further information on Employment Rights please visit our website or call 0033 3344 9603 and ask to speak with our Employment Rights team.
