A former Crossrail employee has claimed he was fired and blacklisted for raising health and safety concerns.
Daniel Collins launched legal proceedings against Crossrail, Skanska, Costain, T Clarke and NG Bailey alleging that the Crossrail contractors had blacklisted him from further work on the project.
Collins, an electrician, raised concerns about working at height at Crossrail’s Bond Street station in London in February 2015. He told managers that a makeshift walkway, with no handrails, was posing a substantial risk to workers who would be carrying heavy bags of concrete or equipment and could fall.
Three days later Collins was fired and the issue had not been addressed, despite him being previously told there would be three years of work at the site. He subsequently found it difficult to secure work with contractors involved in the project, despite being an experienced electrician. In some cases, he was offered roles that were later withdrawn.
Failing to find work in the construction sector, he had ended up with mounting credit card debts and difficulties in paying household bills, he said.
He submitted a number of subject access requests to the companies involved in Crossrail, only to discover a range of personal information was held about him and circulated.
One internal email from Costain said: “We have a potential issue. Danny Collins is part of the Unite activist group,” referring to his union membership.
Collins also discovered other companies held information on him, including correspondence regarding a grievance he had submitted to a recruitment agency about some work at Heathrow Airport. He argued there was no legitimate reason for these companies to hold this information.
A further email regarding Collins had been forwarded to one company’s chief executive and group managing director, saying: “Read and delete!!! I hope we never end up with this bloke on any of our sites.”
Collins approached employment lawyers Thompsons to support his case and his legal claim was settled out of court in December 2021, accepting a payout. The companies paid damages and agreed to pay “reasonable legal costs”, but there was no admission of liability.
As part of his settlement terms, it was agreed that an open statement would be read out in the High Court detailing his treatment, which happened this week. In the statement, Collins described a “culture of hostility” towards trade union activists in construction.
“Mr Collins considers that he has always been a reasonable and moderate person and that he has never set out to cause any problems at work,” it said.
“He simply believes that people have a right to have a safe place of work and to have a voice at work. He wants to work with employers, to improve working conditions for the benefit of workers and employers, and his intentions have always been genuine.”
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This was a hugely significant case and demonstrates how Unite will back its members to the hilt.
“Unite is totally focused on defending the jobs, pay and conditions of its members and it will use all avenues available to defend their interests.”
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The companies involved in the case continue to deny allegations of blacklisting.
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