Unions call for private sector to bear costs of Carillion collapse

Losses arising from the collapse of engineering giant Carillion should be borne by the private sector, the Government is being urged.

Losses from the collapise of Carillion should be borne by the private sector.

Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool was told that “private spivs” behind the stalled project to build a new hospital in the city will get compensation.

Work on the Royal Liverpool Hospital was halted earlier this year when Carillion went out of business and completion will be delayed for years.

Unions have welcomed news that government money will be used to complete the project.

Ian Bruce, of Unite, told the conference that the private sector should not receive any compensation.

“They should be told you rolled the dice, you lost, now pay up, and any compensation must not be at the expense of the people of Liverpool, who have already suffered enough.

“While we welcome the commitment on funding the hospital, we have had no commitments about who will build it and how workers will be treated.

“The Royal Liverpool must be completed with direct employment, not bogus self-employment, with decent rates of pay for the workers, with unions given full and free access to the workplace.

“And there must be no chance of the dirty, disgusting practice of blacklisting occurring.”