Eight of the U.K.’s largest construction companies said Oct. 10 that they would compensate construction industry workers who were damaged by an unlawful “blacklist” that allegedly operated since the mid-1990s and included more than 3,200 names.

Workers were added to the list for reasons that included health and safety issues, employment history, trade union activity and personal relationships, says Justin Bowden, national officer of GMB, a leading U.K. construction trade union, and media reports.