Blacklisting law falls short

Construction union UCATT has said it is “bitterly disappointed” after failing to persuade the government to toughen up the new blacklisting regulations. The regulations went through unchanged earlier this month despite arguments from the union and lawyers that they would fail to outlaw blacklisting properly.

In January, UCATT submissions to the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments won a delay in the introduction of the regulations to allow for further scrutiny.

The union pointed out that the regulations did not make blacklisting a specific offence, that they gave employers the green light to blacklist workers for undertaking unofficial industrial action and failed to grant an automatic right to compensation to blacklisted workers.

But the committee did not in the end raise any objections to the regulations as drafted.

UCATT general secretary Alan Ritchie said: “Cynical construction employers will recognise the weakness of the regulations and could continue to blacklist workers. They know that they are unlikely to get caught and if they do they will merely get a slap on the wrist.”

He said his union would continue to campaign for the regulations to be strengthened.