The Welsh Assembly Government, the devolved government for Wales, has announced that public sector bodies in Wales are now permitted how to exclude companies which blacklist when recruiting staff from tendering for contracts and work. As such Wales is the first country within the United Kingdom to take this step to combat the practice of workers being denied work because of their union membership or union activity or for raising concerns about health and safety. (Ref. 130542)
Jane Hutt, Finance Minister, stated: ‘Under no circumstances is it acceptable for any business in receipt of public procurement expenditure to use blacklists’. It is advising public bodies through the issuing of a Procurement Advice Note that excluding firms from contracts can be justified by evidence – such as an admission of wrongdoing by the firm or a decision in a tribunal or court.
The guidance also states that ‘exclusion is not a means of punishing operators for past wrongdoing, but rather
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