UK construction groups agree to compensate blacklisted workers Eight major construction companies have announced that they will compensate some of the 3,213 workers whose names were kept on a secret blacklist, in a dramatic twist in the long-running campaign by unions against the industry. Last year workers launched a legal battle on behalf of nearly 100 workers, claiming that they were in effect barred from construction sites because their names were on a list held by a shadowy trade group based in the Midlands. On Thursday morning eight companies, which include construction groups such as Sir Robert McAlpine, Carillion and Balfour Beatty, said they were working together to develop a scheme to compensate some workers whose names were on the database. Unions welcomed the development, although one campaigner against blacklisting said the offer on the table was thought to be about £1,000 a worker - a figure he dismissed as "laughable." The existence of the blacklist was uncovered by the Information Commissioner's Office in 2009 when it raided the Droitwich offices of the Consulting Association. The list allegedly stretched to more than 3,000 named individuals with personal information gathered over more than 15 years. The mainly paper database was used by more than 40 building groups to vet new recruits and share information across the industry. The aim was to identify suspected "trouble makers" taking part in trade union activity or raising health and safety concerns. The political pressure on the industry has grown in the last year as leading Labour figures such as shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna have called for an inquiry into the blacklisting - with some comparing it with the phone hacking scandal. Ian Kerr, former chief officer of the Consulting Association who would have been a key witness on behalf of the construction workers against the companies, died last December just a fortnight after he appeared at a Commons committee inquiry into blacklisting. The circumstances of his death were not suspicious. Mr Umunna said it was "regrettable" that only eight companies had signed up to providing compensation given that 44 had been named as having used the blacklist. "We will be closely monitoring and scrutinising the compensation scheme as it progresses to ensure it provides proper redress to victims swiftly and commands confidence," he said. It also underlines the need for a full inquiry into the blacklisting scandal to make sure it is never repeated. If ministers refuse to take this crucial step, a future Labour government will."" Wednesday's statement said: "The companies - Balfour Beatty, Carillion, Costain, Kier, Laing O'Rourke, Sir Robert McAlpine, Skanska UK and VINCI PLC - all apologise for their involvement with TCA and the impact that its database may have had on any individual construction worker." It said the companies would set up a "Construction Workers Compensation Scheme" which would make it simple for any worker with a "legitimate" claim to access compensation. The companies are now in talks with the unions to discuss the proposed terms of the scheme. At this time we are not able to share any further information on the proposed scheme. However, once engagement with the workers" representatives has concluded, we will announce full details of the scheme which we would like to open to applicants as soon as possible," the statement said. Justin Bowden of the GMB union said the industry's commitment to compensation was a welcome "admission" from the companies. "Firms admitting they engaged in a terrible abuse of the civil rights of thousands of UK workers is an important step," he said. "`The next step is clean up and pay up. This remains our demand on the construction industry. The Blacklist Support Group, which campaigns for the workers on the list, said it welcomed the promise but said the proposals were only "vague." "We want every single person who is on the Consulting Association blacklist to be compensated and jobs guaranteed for blacklisted workers on major construction projects," said a spokesman. "`Forgive us if we do not crack open the champagne just yet." Prime Minister David Cameron condemned the "completely unacceptable practice." But Vince Cable, the business secretary, has resisted demands for an inquiry into the scandal unless proof emerges that blacklisting continued even after it was made illegal in the Employment Act of 2010. "If it is actually going on, it is a serious matter and it does need investigation and I, of course, will want to see it properly investigated, but we want some evidence," said Mr Cable in a recent Commons debate.