Protesters hold 'blacklisting' rally outside parliament 2 May 2013 Last updated at 18:59 Protesters gathered outside the Scottish Parliament to demand a public inquiry into "systematic blacklisting" of workers by major construction firms. Dozens of workers turned out for the Unite union rally to demand that companies implicated are not awarded government contracts. MSPs debated the issue in parliament. The list was drawn up by The Consulting Association, which was closed down in 2009 after being raided by the Information Commissioner's Office. It is thought that the names of about 600 Scottish construction workers appeared on the list, which construction firms paid to access. It is understood some of the firms were involved in major projects in Scotland. Lives ruined Jim Currie, 61, an electrician from Glasgow, said his details were among the 3,213 names in the association's files. "I've always been a trade union official of some sort, either a shop steward or a safety rep," he said. I tried to make the building sites safe and comfortable, asking for more toilets and washing facilities and things like that. Over the years I have found it very hard to continue working while my non-unionised friends were getting jobs, so we have always known there was a blacklist but we couldn't prove it until the ICO raid. Rozanne Foyer, senior regional organiser at Unite, said: "We are here to demand justice for our members who have been blacklisted for decades, whose lives have been ruined, whose families have been put into poverty. Labour MSP Neil Findlay said that the full extent of the practice would not be known until there was an inquiry. "It's a human-rights abuse that has been going on for decades," he said. I would like the Scottish government to engage with with the trade unions and others who have got an interest in this issue, and I would personally like the Scottish Parliament to have an inquiry into this to find out the extent in Scotland.