Carillion: Unite calls for probe on first anniversary of ‘corporate meltdown’

The union says lack of action against those responsible shows failure of system

(Getty)

A leading trade union is stepping up calls for a criminal investigation into the collapse of engineering giant Carillion on the first anniversary of the group going out of business.

Unite has accused the government of not taking enough action to ensure there is not another “corporate meltdown”.

Carillion went into compulsory liquidation on 15 January last year, leading to thousands of job losses.

Unite said the cost to the taxpayer was more than £150m, including redundancy pay and “lucrative” work for accountants.

Unite assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail said: “It is staggering that a year after the biggest corporate failure in modern UK history the government has carried on as though it is business as normal.

“The government’s failure to take action to ensure that there cannot be similar collapses in the future is a betrayal of workers, who still face being cast on the scrapheap without warning because of irresponsible directors who place profits and shareholder dividends before people.

“The fact that no one involved in Carillion has yet had any form of action taken against them demonstrates either that the regulators are failing to do their jobs or that existing laws are too weak. If it is the latter then we need better, stronger laws.

“Taxpayers were handed a bill of over £150m to clean up the mess left by Carillion, yet the government has failed to end bandit capitalism in the UK.

“A year on from Carillion’s collapse the government needs to stop prevaricating and start taking effective action to drive bandit capitalism out of the UK.”

The Cabinet Office confirmed that investigations into the failure of the company are still ongoing.

A government spokesman said: “In the past year, the government has taken great strides to improve how we work with the private sector and to protect smaller businesses and employees.

“We have announced new measures, including requiring companies to demonstrate prompt payment to their suppliers and piloting ‘living wills’ for critical contracts, which allow contingency plans to be quickly put into place if needed.

“The estimated cost of government funding required for Carillion’s liquidation is £72m. There are ongoing investigations into the failure of the company.

“We remain committed to outsourcing, with the private sector providing cutting-edge innovation and expertise for public services, as well as millions of jobs across the UK.”

Press Association