LABOUR would ban blacklisting construction companies from public contracts, John McDonnell said yesterday after bosses coughed up a £5.6 million settlement for 71 aggrieved workers.

The payments mean big building firms may now have paid out at least £15m in compensation, sources say.

But over 300 workers are still on course for their day in court — and campaigners warned last night that the payments were merely bosses’ attempts to “buy themselves out of a High Court trial.”

The latest settlements are all with workers represented by construction union Ucatt and amount to an average of £80,000 per worker, with some receiving as much as £200,000. 

Ucatt acting general secretary Brian Rye hailed the result as “the first significant milestone in the battle to win justice for blacklisted workers.”

In 2009, government inspectors unearthed a database of more than 3,000 workers who had been denied employment on building sites due to their political and trade union activities.

The culprits included construction giants Sir Robert McAlpine, Carillion, Skanska and Balfour Beatty.

Another 89 workers represented by Ucatt, along with Unite and GMB members, are due a trial in May.

But if they refuse to accept bosses’ compensation offers and are then awarded less by the courts, they will be forced to cover the firms’ legal fees, which currently amount to almost £20m.

Blacklist Support Group secretary Dave Smith said: “The entire British legal system is stacked in favour of big business and against working people. Multinationals can effectively buy themselves out of a High Court trial. This might be a court of law, but it’s certainly not a court of justice.”

Shadow chancellor Mr McDonnell said the companies had caused “untold suffering” to thousands of families and branded them “the unacceptable face of capitalism.”

He added: “Labour will do everything in our power to ensure that taxpayers’ money is only given to companies with the highest ethical standards, by ensuring that contracts are not awarded to companies involved in serious human rights violations.”

Ucatt said yesterday that it was still seeking a formal apology from the firms involved in blacklisting.

Union reps also want a commitment to preserve documents discovered in future for the purposes of a public inquiry, and for victims of blacklisting to have the right to see them.