Construction Blacklist

[Yahoorsur]

the Economic League,another bunch who wanted to keep the proles in their place.

http://www.1in12events.co.uk/archive/pu ... /spies.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

methinks this lot were more a danger to democracy in the Uk,than any far left grouping,they actively tried to instigate a coup against Harold Wilson in 1968 and around 74.

[IWW Fellow Worker]

See if you can get hold of the DVD entitled 'Taking Liberties'. It shows how your civil liberties have been eroded since 1997. The book of the same title is also an eye opener.

[Yahoorsur]

See if you can get hold of the DVD entitled 'Taking Liberties'. It shows how your civil liberties have been eroded since 1997. The book of the same title is also an eye opener.

If there’s one thing I’ve learnt from making this film, is the understanding that politics is not about self important windbags in Westminster, or thundering newspaper editorials – it’s about people. And all people need to do is to engage and have a voice and they can change the world'.
Chris Atkins
Director.

[IWW Fellow Worker]

See if you can get hold of the DVD entitled 'Taking Liberties'. It shows how your civil liberties have been eroded since 1997. The book of the same title is also an eye opener.

If there’s one thing I’ve learnt from making this film, is the understanding that politics is not about self important windbags in Westminster, or thundering newspaper editorials – it’s about people. And all people need to do is to engage and have a voice and they can change the world'.
Chris Atkins
Director.

Top lad! Here's a group I'm a member of:

http://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Money well spent if it causes the establishment a bit of bother.

[norbert]

Sooner or later everyone will end up on a employment blacklist so who'll do the work then?

What makes you think that we aren't already on one?
They've been using blacklists for at least a Century, but they're normally kept secret. It's only because someone made the mistake of computerising their blacklist (thereby contravening the Data Protection Act), that it hit the headlines.

I'm sorry if I sound a little callous. But quite frankly, it wasn't a surprise to me. Just look at the other comments in this Thread. Most of us know someone who has been affected by blacklisting. Baldrick even knows one man, who killed himself, because he was blacklisted. Are you really saying that you didn't know that this was going on?

Having said that: Well done to whoever Blew the Whistle on this particular Blacklist! Normally, it's virtually impossible to find out where the blacklist is. So we can't do anything about it (no proof). If only other blacklists had been found to be on computer. So we could have them removed, and the culprits prosecuted. Still, there's time yet. With any luck, more will be found out.

I know one organization got round it by having everything on old fashioned card files etc . The Building Trade is notorious for it , true blue Tory Firms . I read Ricky Tomlinson's book , quite a few people were blacklisted after the 70's builders strike .

[norbert]

The Engineering Employers Federation used a blacklist too.
An employer's front organisation the 'Economic League' used to organise
the blacklist, but after bad publicity, Data Protection laws and EU legislation,
it was left to private 'detective agencies' to do the dirty work.

I remember Paul Foot exposing them and causing a flap, many Employers tried to distance themselves from it, seems when one get sgut down anothe ropens up, we should stamp down on every new Blackisting organisation, wherever they are, its immoral and ruins peopels lives, Although David Davis is a Tory MP but his GrandFather wasn't and he was affected by the Blacklist as he was a Trade Unionist, which caused difficulties for his Family, he reognised the Immorality of it and is demanding the practice to be banned.

I never thought I would hear of a Tory doing that,

New link http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/news ... klist.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We'd a eight week strike every Thursday in another Industry , the other big union had a rest day and overtime ban & TBH that caused more problems .

There was one who sc**ed with his mate , during the negotiations ; Senior Mgt were accused of being very underhand and even got criticized by the likes of Norman Tebbit , the Area Manager was the brother of a now high profile CEO .
The pair of them were " asked " to complain to the National Economic League stating they'd not received ballot papers - FFS ! , apparently there was no end of money spent on complaints against unions , £250K was spent in legal fees in one case .
It went to High Court in London and was thrown out of court , just a smokescreen to deflect as the yes ballot was - 70 +% in the area , so two missing ballot papers would make no odds .

The equivalent of Area Rep complained to management and the orders were those individuals were to be treated as non persons , the rep was told he wouldn't get an interview , the pair got promoted sure enough .

One was running a Jag round afterwards , 18 - 22 m.p.g. on Four Star , bit expensive and suspicious ??

The Area Rep in my area told me if you have any chance to grass him up , do it ! , he didn't get the chief's job and blamed me for going to the Union too much about him being a ar**hole .

I got transfered to that sc**by c**t's area , he tried to get me on a charge 14 times , reporting me as AWOL on my day off or when on AL , you get the picture . Four Times they tried to sack me , nearly got sacked when an Asian guy stole £40 of my takings , if they'd sacked me , I'd have took them to ET , no problem ! , management didn't like me accusing that guy as it wasn't politically correct .

Anyway I got revenge on him , the late Paul Foot ran an article in the Daily Mirror about one of the Area Managers getting a Queen's medal for Industry for his activities during a miner's strike .

So I wrote to Paul Foot , he phoned me back saying he was willing to publish , I believe that sc**'s Jag got badly scratched after he was in the Paper , must admit a Jag looked a bit conspicuous on a sh**hole council estate . I got dragged upstairs , I told them that I wasn't going in without a rep .I just said No Knowledge or recollection and turned the tables on them by asking them to substantiate their allegation .

Even the guy who was the sc**'s supervisor who'd previously been a rep told me to shop the sc** to him if he was being more of a a***hole than normal .

[Yahoorsur]

This show's the human cost and effect of blacklists.How many lives did this piece of s**t destroy?


http://www.tribunemagazine.co.uk/2009/0 ... blacklist/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Do not touch!’ The debilitating effect of Kerr’s illegal blacklist
March 12, 2009 11:59 pm admin frontpage, news
by Phil Chamberlain

THE original file was a collection of cards – some photocopied, some typed and many with handwritten notes scrawled on them. The only names in it were of the subject and fellow targets. A few small companies are mentioned but most sources of information were hidden behind code numbers. On the first page the phrase “Do Not Touch!” jumps out. It refers to Steve Acheson, a 55-year-old Manchester electrician who was on a blacklist held by consultant Ian Kerr.

Last month, after a six-month investigation, the Information Commissioner’s Office raided Mr Kerr’s Droitwich-based firm, The Consulting Association, and seized a database with files on 3,213 construction workers. They also found invoices from Mr Kerr to more than 40 construction firms including Balfour Beatty, McAlpine’s and Costain.

It may have taken the Information Commissioner six months to gather enough evidence but Mr Acheson has suspected he was on a blacklist for years.

He said: “I started as an apprentice in 1969 and I’ve worked on the Channel Tunnel, in the Middle East and around Europe. But in the last nine years I’ve not had one phone call from an agency. I’ve managed to find some work, but it’s only been 36 weeks employment in those nine years.”

Mr Acheson believes it was his union work – and the fact he won two employment tribunals – which marked him out.

In 2005 he managed to get work on a hospital building site. He said: “It was Christmas and so I don’t think they checked properly otherwise I wouldn’t have got the work.”

A few weeks later he was let go. He said: “You know that it’s pressure from a third party. The subcontractor is told they can’t employ you.”

The cumulative effect was very dispiriting. “I don’t even bother applying for jobs any more. Once I was offered work at ten past eight in the morning and by ten to twelve they told me to forget about it. The checks had been made.

“It can cause hardship. It affects your family life and makes things very stressful.”

Following the hospital project, an employment tribunal found that he had been blacklisted, but there were no moves by industry or the Government to investigate.

Meanwhile, Mr Acheson’s file at The Consulting Association continued to be added to with records and comments. One agency was told to tell him there were no jobs available. The file only stopped when the investigators swooped.

Alan Ritchie, general secretary of construction union UCATT, said: “The extent of the practice and the fact that most of the major companies in construction are involved is truly shocking. It is outrageous that construction workers have been barred from jobs simply for being trade unionists.”

The union will be writing to its 100,000 members advising them on how to proceed if they fear having been blacklisted.

On Monday the Information Commissioner will open a hotline for people to ring in and find out if Mr Kerr held a file on them. This paves the way for possible legal action against the companies involved.

For Steve Acheson there’s satisfaction but, ultimately, he just wants to get back to work.

[Yahoorsur]

Well at least there's some progress being made on this,I hope anyone stopped from working sue the backside off these companies


Workers who suspect they have been blacklisted for being trade unionists will from today be able to find out if their personal details have been logged on a secret database used by big companies.

More than 40 firms have been accused of buying "sensitive" data from the database to vet thousands of workers before employing them.

The entire database has been seized by Richard Thomas, the information commissioner, who believes many workers may have been unfairly denied work.

He has now set up a hotline for workers who fear details of their trade union activities, employment history and personal relationships were recorded on the database.

The commissioner's hotline number is 08456 306060. Individuals should be ready to give their name, date of birth and national insurance number.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/mar/1 ... rs-hotline" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[norbert]

Well at least there's some progress being made on this,I hope anyone stopped from working sue the backside off these companies


Workers who suspect they have been blacklisted for being trade unionists will from today be able to find out if their personal details have been logged on a secret database used by big companies.

More than 40 firms have been accused of buying "sensitive" data from the database to vet thousands of workers before employing them.

The entire database has been seized by Richard Thomas, the information commissioner, who believes many workers may have been unfairly denied work.

He has now set up a hotline for workers who fear details of their trade union activities, employment history and personal relationships were recorded on the database.

The commissioner's hotline number is 08456 306060. Individuals should be ready to give their name, date of birth and national insurance number.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/mar/1 ... rs-hotline" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

incidentally Balfour Beatty and Mc Alpine have been large donors to the Tory Party , my Grandad was involved in a strike , McAlpine sent for staff from Dublin to break it .
That no hard evidence statement is rubbish , New Labour were scared of not appearing business friendly or upsetting the CBI , it's been common knowledge for years .

Also there was the case of the 49% stakeholder in ROMEC , their Chairman would not meet the CWU , and the underhand deal with AMICUS / CMA part of UNITE for union recognition but not the CWU .

Be careful that the likes of TNT don't try that one on , the most infamous one with some of these operators was a Company Union being formed and the company CEO making himself " union " president . Staff Councils and the likes of DRAW groups are the thin end of that wedge .

Billy Hayes is not Mr Popular on here but at least he'd be better than :cfo , also you've got to read between the lines with :mfo 's threats . New Labour are just more devious than the Tories .

[Broxi51]

EDM 1020 WORKERS AND EMPLOYEES IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY09.03.2009


Clapham, Michael
That this House is alarmed and concerned to learn from the Information Commissioner's report that the blacklisting of trade union members is widespread in the construction industry; condemns the major construction contractors who subscribed to the Consulting Association and also provided it with information about workers and employees; notes that many of the companies who donated to the Consulting Association are currently engaged on publicly-procured work projects worth billions of pounds; considers that there may be legal implications where for example an employee or worker believes they were dismissed because they were on the list and requests that the Information Commissioner gives a reasonable time for people to make the appropriate checks; and calls on the Government to enact immediately legislation to prohibit the compilation of a blacklist containing the details of workers and employees with a view to them being used by employers or employment agencies to discriminate in relation to employment and to make it a criminal offence for an employer to commission such information.
Signatures( 79)
Standard Order Party Groups Alphabetical Order Party Totals
Status
Open signatures All signatures

Clapham, Michael
Cohen, Harry
Hepburn, Stephen
Dobbin, Jim
Borrow, David S
Doran, Frank
Purchase, Ken
Skinner, Dennis
Smith, Geraldine
Havard, Dai
Hopkins, Kelvin
Hoyle, Lindsay
Kidney, David
Kilfoyle, Peter
Mackinlay, Andrew
Murphy, Denis
Osborne, Sandra
Clwyd, Ann
Connarty, Michael
Crausby, David
Cryer, Ann
Cummings, John
Cunningham, Jim
Flynn, Paul
Battle, John
Touhig, Don
Twigg, Derek
Williams, Betty
Winnick, David
Brown, Lyn
Devine, Jim
Pope, Greg
Prentice, Gordon
Russell, Bob
Holmes, Paul
Humble, Joan
Iddon, Brian
Illsley, Eric
Jackson, Glenda
Jones, Lynne
Levitt, Tom
Caton, Martin
Clelland, David
Corbyn, Jeremy
Dean, Janet
Dismore, Andrew
Drew, David
Francis, Hywel
George, Andrew
Gibson, Ian
Godsiff, Roger
Hancock, Mike
Truswell, Paul
Turner, Desmond
Weir, Mike
Clark, Katy
Smith, Angela C (Sheffield Hillsborough)
Rogerson, Daniel
Singh, Marsha
Keen, Alan
McDonnell, Alasdair
Campbell, Ronnie
Davey, Edward
Davidson, Ian
Durkan, Mark
Stringer, Graham
Taylor, David
Walley, Joan
Wareing, Robert N
McGovern, Jim
Pugh, John
Simpson, Alan
Lloyd, Tony
Mann, John
Clarke, Tom
Dowd, Jim
Anderson, Janet
Anderson, David
Leech, John