UCATT, the construction union, has urged Dundee Council to reject BAM Construction from being awarded a key public sector contract in the city.

The local authority is due to meet today (8 September) to discuss the multi-million pound contract for the V&A Museum in the city. Last week, it was revealed that BAM were viewed as the preferred contractors for the project.

However, UCATT is now calling for the Council to reject this decision, after it was revealed the construction company has not paid out compensation to the workers it had previously blacklisted.

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In a statement, the union referred to a recent letter by the Scottish Government, which highlighted the new guidelines on blacklisting in relation to public sector contracts, claiming: "[The] guidance makes it clear that firms which have engaged in blacklisting have committed an act of grave professional misconduct and should be excluded from public procurement, unless they can demonstrate appropriate remedial action."

Steve Murphy, General Secretary of UCATT, added: "Until blacklisters fairly compensate the workers whose lives they ruined they should be banned from public contracts. The Scottish Government is introducing clear guidelines to penalise blacklisters and Dundee Council must respect those rules."

(JP/CD)