{"id":468,"date":"2011-05-25T12:33:52","date_gmt":"2011-05-25T11:33:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hazards.org\/blacklistblog\/?p=468"},"modified":"2011-05-25T12:45:03","modified_gmt":"2011-05-25T11:45:03","slug":"balfour-beatty%e2%80%99s-safety-award-is-a-joke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hazards.org\/blacklistblog\/2011\/05\/25\/balfour-beatty%e2%80%99s-safety-award-is-a-joke\/","title":{"rendered":"Balfour Beatty\u2019s safety award is a ‘joke’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Trade unionists have branded as \u2018a joke\u2019 the award of a prestigious health and safety prize to construction firm Balfour Beatty. The company received the Sir George Earle Trophy from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA)<\/a> despite being notorious for sacking and blacklisting health and safety reps.<\/p>\n

Balfour Beatty, in a citation for RoSPA\u2019s top award<\/a>, was \u201ccommended not only the way that safety representatives were pulled into practical problem-solving activities but also the company’s policy of valuing and acting on ideas from the workforce and its overall approach, which was not to punish or to stigmatise but always to encourage behaviour change by entering into dialogue and by celebrating success.\u201d<\/p>\n

Balfour Beatty’s Scottish and Southern managing director Bob Clark claimed: \u201cThe award recognises the ongoing effort, commitment and engagement of our employees in promoting a safe working culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

The award prompted an angry response from trade union safety campaigners. Blacklist Support Group spokesperson Steve Kelly said: \u201cAt first I thought this was a joke. Balfour Beatty are the construction company with the worst record of sacking and blacklisting safety representatives in the entire industry. To be praised for the way they treat their safety representatives is offensive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Balfour Beatty was a major contributor to The Consulting Association, the illegal blacklisting organisation that targeted trade union safety activists.\u00a0 The construction giant received an enforcement notice from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for breaches of the Data Protection Act and has been found by employment tribunals to have blacklisted workers.<\/p>\n

RMT regional organiser Steve Hedley urged the government to launch a public inquiry into the blacklisting \u201cscandal.\u201d He told the Morning Star<\/a>: \u201cThis is reward for appalling behaviour,\u201d adding that firms involved in the blacklist \u201cshould be levied with a fine which should be distributed amongst blacklisted workers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Consulting Association was shut down by ICO. Its former head Ian Kerr was prosecuted in 2009 and fined \u00a35,000 for breaches of the Data Protection Act.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Trade unionists have branded as \u2018a joke\u2019 the award of a prestigious health and safety prize to construction firm Balfour Beatty. The company received the Sir George Earle Trophy from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) despite being notorious for sacking and blacklisting health and safety reps. Balfour Beatty, in a citation … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Balfour Beatty\u2019s safety award is a ‘joke’”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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