Reputation building

News this week that over 100 of the UK's biggest construction firms have been fined for rigging the prices of public sector contracts, strikes a terrible blow to an industry which has worked hard to shake off its undeserved image of being run by a bunch of knuckle-dragging wolf-whistling idiots in high viz vests.

The big issue for the industry in cases like this is that all operators get tarred with the same brush. It is especially damaging for those hard-working professional outfits that would love the opportunity to get on these big tender lists in the first place. Unfortunately, for all the bluster of employing local companies for flagship projects, major contracts still seem to go to the usual suspects.

So, when the man from UK Construction Group was given the opportunity to defend the integrity of the industry on Channel 4 News, he didn't take the opportunity. Part of the argument provided - that these actions were thought not to have actually been against competition law - smacked of wriggle room written into toothless legislation, rather than an upstanding industry facing down its critics.

Just like Rome, reputations are not built in a day, but they can be damaged - even by the actions of others.

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