Agency refutes blacklisting claims
21 May 2014
Allegations that the practice of blacklisting workers who complain about pay or who join a trade union is alive and well have been reignited by a Danish TV programme broadcast last week and the release of a new interim report on the practice by the Scottish Affairs Committee.
Wed, 21 May 2014 | By DeeDee Doke and Nicola Sullivan
Allegations that the practice of blacklisting workers who complain about pay or who join a trade union is alive and well have been reignited by a Danish TV programme broadcast last week and the release of a new interim report on the practice by the Scottish Affairs Committee.
The programme claimed that a secret register was used by the Danish-owned Atlanco Rimec agency with offices in Northampton to blacklist the workers, allegations that the parent company Atlanco ApS has refuted as “completely unfounded and untrue”.
Atlanco Rimec operates in the construction & civil engineering, mechanical & electrical and food & meat sectors.
The accusations of blacklisting have in turn prompted an investigation by the Scottish Affairs Select Committee. Observers say that the government could come under further pressure to increase direct employment in publicly-funded construction projects if agencies are found to be fuelling the problem of blacklisting.
Ian Davidson MP, chairman of the Scottish Affairs Select Committee, which will be probing the practices of the agency, told Recruiter: “The government has got to indicate that it does take this seriously and that it will be willing to look at the need for legislation if it is shown that there are loopholes in the existing legislation. The government needs to be willing to toughen up penalties if the existing legislation is sufficient but being broken.
“I also think they will have to be willing to accept that if we identify agencies as being a major source of blacklisting they will have to take action to increase direct employment.”
The Scottish Affairs Committee is disappointed that the government has rejected its recommendation for direct employment on all publicly-funded construction projects and for transparent recruitment and employment practices, outlined in its report ‘Blacklisting in Employment: addressing the crimes of the past; moving towards best practice’.
Commenting on the government’s response, published on Monday (19 May), Davidson said: “What we have seen shows clearly that the use of agency workers is a ‘weak spot’ in eradicating blacklisting, and we therefore recommended that direct employment and transparent recruitment practices should be standard for all public sector contracts in the construction industry.”
Justin Bowden, GMB National Officer, said any notions that blacklisting was a thing of the past have been “blown out of the water” by the Danish TV programme O starbejdernes Bagmaed’s allegations. "We know that the employers lied as well as spied: for more than a decade they lied about the existence of blacklisting whilst systematically denying employment to a generation of safety reps and shop stewards,” Bowden said.
“Since then they have applied the same systematic approach to schmoozing politicians, the ICO [Information Commissioner’s Office] and others into believing that blacklisting was a thing of the past. The new revelations… blow that out of the water.”
However, a statement by Atlanco ApS said: “Clear evidence that we presented to the producers disproving each of their assertions went ignored. Further, additional statements that we submitted refuting their claims were not included in the programme that aired.”
Noting that they will be taking legal action against the documentary makers, the Atlanco ApS statement went on to say: “To be clear, there is no blacklist or ‘secret database’ of any kind, nor is there any discrimination against any workers who wish to be active in a union. Atlanco has absolutely no issues with workers being members of a union and fully respects such membership.”
Allegations that the practice of blacklisting workers who complain about pay or who join a trade union is alive and well have been reignited by a Danish TV programme broadcast last week and the release of a new interim report on the practice by the Scottish Affairs Committee.
The programme claimed that a secret register was used by the Danish-owned Atlanco Rimec agency with offices in Northampton to blacklist the workers, allegations that the parent company Atlanco ApS has refuted as “completely unfounded and untrue”.
Atlanco Rimec operates in the construction & civil engineering, mechanical & electrical and food & meat sectors.
The accusations of blacklisting have in turn prompted an investigation by the Scottish Affairs Select Committee. Observers say that the government could come under further pressure to increase direct employment in publicly-funded construction projects if agencies are found to be fuelling the problem of blacklisting.
Ian Davidson MP, chairman of the Scottish Affairs Select Committee, which will be probing the practices of the agency, told Recruiter: “The government has got to indicate that it does take this seriously and that it will be willing to look at the need for legislation if it is shown that there are loopholes in the existing legislation. The government needs to be willing to toughen up penalties if the existing legislation is sufficient but being broken.
“I also think they will have to be willing to accept that if we identify agencies as being a major source of blacklisting they will have to take action to increase direct employment.”
The Scottish Affairs Committee is disappointed that the government has rejected its recommendation for direct employment on all publicly-funded construction projects and for transparent recruitment and employment practices, outlined in its report ‘Blacklisting in Employment: addressing the crimes of the past; moving towards best practice’.
Commenting on the government’s response, published on Monday (19 May), Davidson said: “What we have seen shows clearly that the use of agency workers is a ‘weak spot’ in eradicating blacklisting, and we therefore recommended that direct employment and transparent recruitment practices should be standard for all public sector contracts in the construction industry.”
Justin Bowden, GMB National Officer, said any notions that blacklisting was a thing of the past have been “blown out of the water” by the Danish TV programme O starbejdernes Bagmaed’s allegations. "We know that the employers lied as well as spied: for more than a decade they lied about the existence of blacklisting whilst systematically denying employment to a generation of safety reps and shop stewards,” Bowden said.
“Since then they have applied the same systematic approach to schmoozing politicians, the ICO [Information Commissioner’s Office] and others into believing that blacklisting was a thing of the past. The new revelations… blow that out of the water.”
However, a statement by Atlanco ApS said: “Clear evidence that we presented to the producers disproving each of their assertions went ignored. Further, additional statements that we submitted refuting their claims were not included in the programme that aired.”
Noting that they will be taking legal action against the documentary makers, the Atlanco ApS statement went on to say: “To be clear, there is no blacklist or ‘secret database’ of any kind, nor is there any discrimination against any workers who wish to be active in a union. Atlanco has absolutely no issues with workers being members of a union and fully respects such membership.”
