5000 construction workers in Scotland are feared to be on employers' blacklists because they might call for better working conditions, according to the Scottish Trade Union Congress.

Many of those targeted are simply members of a trades union or a political party. The STUC's Ian Tasker said: "If we look at the construction sector alone, it is a fair estimate that there may be 4000 to 5000 workers on blacklists."

The news comes as Secretary Vince Cable has called proposals to make it easier for firms to sack staff as "the wrong approach".

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The extent of blacklisting in Scotland has not been investigated before. Ian Davidson MP, chairman of the Scottish Affairs Committee, said: "It is incumbent on the committee to investigate this to determine the scale of the problem and what is being done to eradicate it."

Westminster's Scottish Affairs Committee is due to hear evidence today on the blacklisting of workers, in the construction industry.

Maria Fyfe, a former Glasgow MP and leading anti-blacklisting campaigner, is due to highlight the role of private organisations, the Economic League and the Consulting Association in the practice.

Speaking ahead of the evidence session, Fyfe said: "The Economic League was blacklisting thousands of people often with inaccurate and untrue information. There was no independent means by which such information could be checked."

(HMc)