Miliband says Labour would have a “transparent and public” inquiry into blacklisting

Ed Miliband has said Labour would have a comprehensive inquiry into blacklisting of workers.

This comes after blacklisted workers have called for an inquiry, particularly one that investigates allegations that police passed on information to workers’ activities to pass on to blacklisters.

Blacklisting, in this context, is the process where firms illegally make confidential files on people who are denied employment for political reasons, trade union activity or a history of ‘whistleblowing’.

For years, major construction firms unlawfully compiled confidential files on thousands of workers who were denied employment for long periods. They included workers who raised health and safety concerns on building sites.

Miliband called blacklisting “odious”, before saying that Labour would begin a full inquiry into it if elected in May. He has said this would be “transparent and public to examine the issue of blacklisting. It will have one purpose and one purpose alone: to put an end to blacklisting right across the United Kingdom”.