SCOTTISH Labour is facing growing criticism over a lobbyist for Carillion and other big building firms involved in blacklisting workers sitting on its governing body.
The Herald revealed on Wednesday that former MSP Cara Hilton has been the policy and public affairs manager for the construction sector’s trade body since December 2016.
Two months after starting her job with the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) Scotland, she was elected to Labour’s ruling Scottish Executive Committee with the backing of the Campaign for Socialism.
The former Dunfermline MSP then stood in the general election, campaigning alongside Jeremy Corbyn, and later backed Richard Leonard as Scottish Labour leader.
However many of the 100 construction companies in CECA Scotland that she represents have been heavily criticised by Labour over historic bad practices.
Carillion and around half a dozen other big firms were exposed for supporting a secret blacklisting system which was shut down by the UK data watchdog in 2009.
Labour has also criticised Carillion’s business model this week in light of its collapse.
The SNP accused Labour of “hypocrisy” over Ms Hilton, whose work includes meeting MSPs and being a voice for the construction sector on Holyrood cross-party groups.
Colin Fox, the former Scottish Socialist MSP, said Ms Hilton’s work for an umbrella group representing past blacklisters “smells of rank hypocrisy” and should end.
He told the CommonSpace website: “Often these workers were prevented from working at their trade with massive loss of earnings impacting not just on them but their wider families.
“One of the most common reasons for blacklisting was that a worker was a representative dealing with workers’ health and safety in one of the UK’s most dangerous industries.
“Despite Corbyn [and] Labour’s condemnations, it is clear that the links to the world of casualised work, PFI rip offs and attacks on workers’ rights which were pioneered by New Labour still have not been broken. Once again the militant talk doesn’t match the reality and these shameful links must end now.”
Labour MSP Neil Findlay, who has for years has railed against some of the CECA construction firms involved in blacklisting, defended Ms Hilton.
He said on Twitter: “The SNP attack on Cara Hilton who works for a trade association in the construction industry is a disgrace.”
Martin McCluskey, former political director of Scottish Labour under Kezia Dugdale, added: “Thin, shoddy attack from the SNP on @cara_hilton. She works for a trade association with over 300 employers small and large, not Carillion.”
Ms Hilton, 42, has not responded to requests for comment from The Herald.
However Scottish Labour its SEC was a “democratically elected governing body”.
A spokesperson said: “This is a lazy attempt to smear a Labour campaigner with a first class record of campaigning for workers' rights."
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