Construction staff hold 'blacklist' demo in Liverpool

A number of protesters said they had been blacklisted in the past

Protesters blocked roads in Liverpool claiming a construction firm will not hire formerly blacklisted workers.

They also allege that Carillion, the main contractor building the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, does not pay nationally-agreed rates.

The company denied blacklisting workers, adding they had "voluntarily stopped" the practice by a former subsidiary in 2004.

Demonstrators stopped traffic near the hospital but let nurses through.

Blacklisting apology

Organisers of the protest, arranged by Blacklist Support Group and Unite, said the hospital development - due to finish in 2017 - should "not be done by greedy employers through the exploitation of workers".

They said union full-time officers were also "not getting the full co-operation" from Carillion.

The existence of blacklisting in the construction industry was revealed in 2009 after the Information Commissioner's Office found a database of 3,000 names that was used to vet workers for more than 15 years.

Carillion apologised for a former subsidiary's use of the database and were among eight major companies that launched a scheme last year to compensate workers who were on the database.

A spokesman for the firm said they would be "defending robustly" a number of High Court claims launched against them and other construction companies.

The Royal Liverpool Hospital Trust replied that Carillion were appointed to build the £450 million hospital using a "standard, government-approved contract".

Aidan Kehoe, the hospital's chief executive, said the NHS trust and Carillion met "regularly with representatives from construction worker unions to work through any concerns they raise".

Roads have now reopened after the protest ended.

Construction workers blocked roads near the hospital during the protest

Demonstrators let nurses through to get into work