Press Release
GMB Carillion grim reaper demo Swansea
5 September 2012
GMB WALES “GRIM REAPER” DEMONSTRATION (THURS 6TH) AS CARILLION IN SWANSEA COURT OVER DEATH OF CONSTRUCTION WORKER
Carillion blacklisted workers who raised concerns about health and safety standards and this corporate bullying endemic in Carillion has not been rooted out and this culture risks death and injuries on sites says GMB
There will be a GMB “grim reaper” demonstration tomorrow (6th September) at Swansea Crown Court to coincide with HSE v Febrey Limited, Mr Michael Febrey and Carillion Construction Limited.
This is plea and case management hearing of the fatal investigation into death of scaffolder Mr Russell Samuel at Meridian Quay, Swansea. The father of two, aged 40, of Thomas Street, Gilfach Goch, Porth, Rhondda, suffered massive head injuries on January 22, 2008 after falling 62ft from a skyscraper complex which includes Wales' tallest residential building.
GMB, the union for construction workers, is linking the involvement of Carillion in this hearing with its involvement with blacklisting construction workers including health and safety representatives across Wales and the UK. Carillion blacklisted 10 workers in Wales as follows: Caernarfon (2) Clwyd (5), Llandudno (1), Mold (1) and North Wales (1).
The details of the demonstration are as follows:
From 10am Thursday 6th September 2012,
outside Swansea Crown Court,
The Law Courts
St Helen's Road
Swansea
South Wales
SA1 4PF
One of the demonstrators will be dressed as a “Grim Reaper” with scythe. There will be placards with the words “Carillion blacklisted health and safety representatives says GMB” and “Carillion corporate bullying risks death and injuries on sites”.
Carillion's involvement with blacklisting came to light when, in 2009, the Information Commissioners Office ( ICO) seized a database of 3,213 construction workers used by 44 companies to vet new recruits and keep out of employment trade union and health and safety activists.
In June 2012 GMB published a report which showed that blacklisting by Carillion was not something isolated or rare. The GMB report estimates that in one quarter that Carillion checked 2,776 names with the Consulting Association and in the period from October 1999 to April 2004 it estimates that Carillion checked at least 14,724 names.
The report showed that Information Commissioner confirmed that 224 construction workers from around the UK were victims of blacklisting by Carillion. These names, on the files of the blacklisting body The Consulting Association, were released in the course of an Employment Tribunal earlier this year when Carillion was accused of blacklisting a construction worker in London. Click here for the GMB report “BLACKLISTING - illegal corporate bullying endemic, systemic and deep-rooted in Carillion and other companies”.
The 224 people blacklisted by Carillion were either based in or tried to obtain work in the following areas ( with numbers in the area listed in brackets): Barnsley (1), Birkenhead (2), Blackburn (5), Brentwood (1), Bristol (1), Caernarfon (2), Canvey Island in Essex (1), Chatham in Kent (3), Cheshire (1), Chester (1), Cleator Moor in Cumbria (1), Clwyd (5), Croydon (1), Derby (1), Dundee (1), Edinburgh (2), Ellesmere Port (3), Essex (1), Folkestone (1), Gateshead (1), Glasgow (1), Gravesend (1), Grimsby (1), Hartlepool (2), Hillingdon (1), Irvine (1), Isle of Man (10), Kent (58), Kirkby (1), Leeds (2), Liverpool (14), Livingston (3), Llandudno (1), London (39), Lowestoft (1), Manchester (13), Merseyside (5), Mold (1), North Wales (1), Oldham (1), Plymouth (1), Rayleigh (1), Romford (2), Rotherham (4), Scunthorpe (1), Sheffield (1), Sherburn in Elmet in North Yorkshire (1), Stanford-le-Hope in Essex (2), Sunderland (1), Surrey (1), Thatcham in Berkshire (1), Uxbridge (3), Warrington (1), West Wickham (1), Wirral (5) and Woodbridge in Suffolk (1). See map in report below for aggregated details. Some areas are listed more than once as the addresses on the blacklist are not complete. Arising from this report GMB is preparing separate legal action against Carillion for blacklisting.
Justin Bowden GMB National Officer said“This demonstration is to highlight the terrible toll of death and injury in the construction sector and to underline the importance of the proper enforcement of health and safety laws to prevent this carnage.
Employers which kill and maim workers are as guilty of a crime as someone who kills or maims while drink driving.
Carillion were part of a blacklisting conspiracy which deprived workers in the sector of jobs even when they raised concerns about the enforcement of basic health and safety and hygiene standards. The culture of corporate bullying endemic in Carillion has not been rooted out. This culture increases the risks of death and injuries on sites.
Employers like Carillion who blacklisted workers have public sector contracts totaling more than £15 billion. They need to be called to account by MPs and local councillors. They should get no more of the public work they either have or they are bidding for in Wales until they apologise and compensate those they blacklisted”. See note 2 for list of jobs in Wales
Notes:
1. Information from Employment Tribunals
A) In a Carillion blacklisting case in Manchester Employment Tribunal in March 2012 (Case No 2405634/09) Mr Wainright an ex-Carillion HR manager said in his witness statement “In my opinion a blacklist is a list of people (held by a third party or exchanged between companies) that a company or group of companies would not employ for reasons that they cannot legal or lawfully keep on their personnel files, databases or records. I first became aware of blacklisting in 1997 when I was employed by Carillion Plc. I was told by Mr Gorman, Crown House HR manager that Carillion used the services of an external consultant called Ian Kerr to ensure that certain workers did not gain employment on their projects. Mr Gorman went on to explain that Mr Kerr provided this service to a number of other high profile companies and had collated a list of names from each of these companies over a period with a view to ensuring that those on the lists did not gain employment with other companies.”
B) In the judgment in the Employment Tribunal on Carillion's blacklisting a worker in London in March 2012 (Case no 1310709/2009) the judge said “It seems to us that he has suffered a genuine injustice and we greatly regret that the law provides him with no remedy”.
2 Carillion work in Wales
|
Project |
Project Description |
Value |
Start Date |
End Date |
Client |
Location |
|
School (Refurbishment) |
Government Buildings |
300,000,000 |
05-Sep-11 |
05-Sep-15 |
Carmarthenshire County Council |
Dyfed |
|
School (Refurbishment) |
Law Courts |
1,000,000,000 |
05-Sep-11 |
05-Sep-15 |
Ministry of Justice |
Gwent |
|
School (Refurbishment) |
Motorways & Trunk Roads |
140,000,000 |
15-Oct-12 |
15-Dec-14 |
Welsh Assembly Government |
Gwent |
|
School (Extension) |
Schools To Sixth Form |
400,000,000 |
25-May-11 |
25-May-15 |
Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough Council |
Mid Glamorgan |
|
School (Refurbishment) |
Schools To Sixth Form |
250,000,000 |
01-Apr-11 |
01-Apr-15 |
Powys County Council |
Powys |
|
School (New/Refurbishment) |
Local Roads |
10,000,000 |
07-Mar-11 |
07-Sep-12 |
Welsh Assembly Government |
Powys |
|
School (Refurbishment) |
Schools To Sixth Form |
21,000,000 |
30-Jul-12 |
30-Jan-15 |
City & County of Swansea |
West Glamorgan |
|
School |
Aqueducts/Viaducts |
15,591,000 |
08-May-12 |
08-Nov-13 |
Network Rail |
West Glamorgan |
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