Earlier, the tribunal had heard an admission by Carillion (previously John Mowlem), subsidiary Schal International and forerunner Tarmac that the qualified engineer was blacklisted. The tribunal heard that between 1999 and 2004 Mowlem paid £20,444 to the Consulting Association, which ran the blacklist.

The Central London Employment Tribunal found Dave Smith had been blacklisted by the respondents Carillion (JM) Limited and Schal International Limited (a wholly owned subsidiary of Carillion) because he raised concerns about asbestos on building sites and because of his trade union activities, but ruled that because he was an agency worker not directly employed by the respondents, they could not be held liable.

Carillion had accepted that Dave Smith had been blacklisted but denied responsibility, arguing that it bought two subsidiaries after they were involved in the practice, a spokesperson saying the company “does not condone any blacklisting, would not itself tolerate any such behaviour.”

Commenting outside the court, Dave Smith said: “The blacklisting conspiracy is a deliberate breach of human rights by big business. Human rights are supposed to apply to everyone but Carillion and their subsidiaries have got away with systematic abuse of power simply because I was an agency worker. If the British justice system does not protect workers’ rights, then we will be taking our case direct to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.”

A secret blacklist file collated by The Consulting Association was presented to the tribunal as evidence and contained Smith’s photograph, address, National Insurance number, work history, car registration, union credentials and information about his family. There was also pages of information about times when Dave Smith had raised concerns about poor toilet facilities or asbestos on building sites. This information was secretly supplied to the blacklist by managers from major building companies. The blacklist file was covertly shared amongst the 44 largest construction firms in the UK and resulted in periods of unemployment.

Blacklisting had a devastating impact on Dave Smith and his family. “If I ever became the safety rep, literally within one of two days I’d be dismissed,” he told the Mirror.  “My income went from £40,000 to £12,000 when they blacklisted me. I was a qualified engineer in the middle of the biggest building boom and my kids were on milk tokens.” He’s claimed that he was owed £175,000 in lost income from building giant Carillion and subsidiaries after being blacklisted.

The tribunal heard alarming new evidence of official complicity in the operation of the blacklist. Former police officer David Clancy, the Information Commissioner’s Office head of investigations who exposed The Consulting Association’s activities, told the tribunal under oath: “There is information on The Consulting Association files that I believe could only be supplied by the police or the security services.” He also told the court that The Consulting Association held information on elected politicians, journalists, lawyers and academics.

Labour MP John McDonnell is supporting the Blacklist Support Group’s campaign for a probe into the blacklisting scandal. Speaking after the tribunal ruled against Dave Smith, he said: “I am calling upon the government to launch a public inquiry into the full extent and impact on people’s lives of blacklisting. These revelations are truly shocking and warrant a detailed and open, public investigation.”

The Blacklist Support Group says the evidence revealed in court is “almost certain” to become a key element in a larger “class action” style claim being brought to the High Court by 100 blacklisted workers in the next few months.

Last week’s vote in Strasbourg followed a debate on a mid-term review of the European Union’s health and safety strategy. Glenis Willmott MEP, leader of the Labour group in Europe, tabled a proposal calling for an amendment to Europe’s workplace safety directive “to prevent the victimisation, dismissal or the refusal of employment or ‘blacklisting’ of workers or their representatives.”

The failure of the proposal leaves rogue employers free to dismiss and blacklist workers who raise concerns about safety without any fear of legal repercussions, said the Blacklist Support Group. In June, Glenis Willmott and her Labour colleague in the European Parliament Stephen Hughes introduced a delegation from the group to the EU commissioner for employment and social affairs. It was hoped this meeting would lead to firm action from Europe.

Brian Higgins, a blacklisted bricklayer and a member of the June Blacklist Support Group delegation, described the actions of the LibDem MEPs as “a kick in the teeth for honest workers prepared to take a stand to protect the lives of their workmates. But we will keep on campaigning against the evil scourge of blacklisting by big business until we finally get some justice.”

Safety campaigner Michael Dooley from the London Hazards Centre, who is also a blacklisted former construction worker, commented: “This is a setback for union safety representatives across Europe who for many years have made a significant impact in reducing fatality es in workplaces. Unfortunately, at the same time, safety reps have also complained about victimisation and blacklisting merely for raising concerns about health and safety issues.

“With the UK government discussing the abolition of unfair dismissal rules and safety laws which currently keep workers safe, this looks like a charter for rogue employers.”

“One of the worst cases of organised
human rights abuse ever in the UK”

So said John McDonnell MP in 2009 following the discovery by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) of the illegal Consulting Association database containing personal sensitive information about 3,200 building workers. The Consulting Association database was being used for decades as a covert blacklist by 44 of the largest multinational construction firms in the UK with the intention of denying employment to trade union members, stewards and safety representatives. Since 2009, new UK legislation has been passed, the European Parliament has discussed the issue and countless Employment Tribunals have been heard. There are currently plans for a High Court claim and a submission to the European Court of Human Rights. The current electricians’ pay dispute has demanded ‘End the Blacklist’ as one of its central themes throughout the campaign.

Whilst the unions UCATT and UNITE have taken most of the ET claims, the majority of the campaigning has been led by the blacklisted workers themselves under the banner of the Blacklist Support Group.

Blacklist Support Group AGM (supported by UNITE the Union)

Saturday 29th October 2011 * 11am til 3pm
Institute of Education, 20 Bedford Way, Euston
London WC1H 0AL

Confirmed speakers:

• John McDonnell MP
• Professor Keith Ewing (author of Ruined Lives report into blacklisting)
• Gail Cartmail (Assistant General Secretary of UNITE)
• Guney, Clarke & Ryan solicitors (Legal team for the High Court claim)

Plus: premier of the newly updated film: Blacklisted by ReelNews

Plus: reports from blacklisted workers themselves, including Mick Dooley and Steve Acheson, about the impacts of blacklisting on their lives and their experiences of the Employment Tribunal system.

Plus: grassroots leaders of the current electricians’ dispute who have raised blacklisting as a major demand in the campaign.

All blacklisted workers attending are asked to bring spare copies of their blacklist file to assist with press and High Court case.

ALL WELCOME – please circulate

7am Wednesday 19th October 2011 * Balfour Beatty construction project * Blackfriars Station * London

Balfour Beatty is one of the biggest blacklisters in the UK building industry. The firm has a history of sacking workers who raise concerns about health and safety. The Information Commissioner’s Office issued Notices against six Balfour Beatty companies because of their support of the illegal blacklist operated by The Consulting Association and used to victimise union members and safety reps. Sacked Balfour Beatty workers Alan Dransfield in Devon and Jonathan Carr in Birmingham allege their recent dismissals came after they raised concerns about safety.

Balfour Beatty is also the lead company withdrawing from the electrical contracting Joint Industry Board (JIB) national agreement. It has issued 1,690 termination notices to staff; instead from December 7th it intends to re-employ them on £10 an hour, rather than the current £16.25 in the JIB – that’s a 35 per cent pay cut. Anyone who refuses to accept the new pay rates will be sacked.

Come along and show your support for blacklisted building workers and union members fighting to defend their wages.

This is not intended to be an event where lots of people make very similar long speeches from the top table about how terrible blacklisting is and how it needs to be stamped out.

The intention is that we will receive expert updates on various different aspects of the campaign and after each report the blacklisted workers will have the opportunity to ask very specific questions about what progress has been made and what is the future plan of action. This is an organising meeting – not a rally. Guest speakers include John McDonnell MP and Professor Keith Ewing.

The proposed Agenda items so far are updates on the following issues:

1. Employment Tribunals

2. European Court of Human Rights

3. High Court claim – a representative of the Guney Clark Ryan legal team will be in attendance

4. UK Parliament

5. EU Parliament

6. Academic Research

7. What are the official unions doing? - UNITE – UCATT – RMT

This bit will be where the collusion issue will be discussed

8. Ongoing Campaigning (including): Olympics / Fiddlers Ferry / Electricians dispute / media / conferences

9. Future Action Plan

10. Blacklist Support Group – Election of Officers (the last time we did this was in 2009 at the House of Commons meeting).

The 10 points above cover most of the areas where blacklisted workers and our supporters have been active over the past year or so. There will of course be an A.O.B. section for other items.

But if there are any other topics that relate specifically to Blacklisting, please let me know asap and I will add to the Agenda.

We expect to generate some media interest on the day - so if you are happy to be interviewed, please bring spare copies of your CA file (as this may be useful for the journalists).

More details will follow once things are firmed up but please put this in your diary and spread the word to your contacts and other blacklisted workers who may not be on our email list.

Speakers from:
Blacklist Support Group – representing workers blacklisted by multi-national building firms for their trade union activities
UNITE Construction rank & file – electricians campaign against the 35% pay cut proposed by major employers
Justice for Shrewsbury Pickets – campaign for judicial review into the imprisonment of Des Warren & Ricky Tomlinson in 1973

Film: BLACKLISTED – by Reel News

Mr Smith told a Central London Employment Tribunal this week he was victimised by the construction giant after becoming a trade union safety rep during the 1990s. Papers submitted to the employment tribunal present evidence that senior managers from Carillion supplied information about Mr Smith to a secret blacklist run by an organisation called the Consulting Association on behalf of 44 major firms in the UK building industry.

The information on his blacklist file, which included over 3,000 workers, was then illegally shared amongst the subscribing firms in order to prevent union activists gaining work on major construction projects.

Carillion argued that the blacklisting claim against them should be struck out by the court because it was out of time as the events happened in 1998-2000 and that it had “no reasonable prospect of success.”

But on 31 August, Employment Judge Pearl found in favour of Mr Smith on both legal issues, with Carillion withdrawing most of their case as the hearing progressed.

Dave Smith is not arguing unfair dismissal or “failure to appoint” but “detriment” as a result of the company placing information on his trade union and safety activities onto a blacklist file. Being on the blacklist caused him prolonged periods of unemployment before he was finally forced to leave the industry and retrain as a further education teacher.

David Clancy from the Information Commissioner’s Office – who uncovered the blacklist after a raid in 2009 – gave evidence in court and said that the people carrying out the blacklisting were very senior industrial relations or human resources managers, often at director level.

Commenting after the hearing, Mr Smith said: “Carillion have been caught red handed: the evidence against them is damning. Senior managers from the Carillion Group participated in secret and systematic abuse of human rights for decades. But to date, we have not heard a single word of apology.

“Until such time that the multinational blacklisting firms show some kind of corporate responsibility, we will continue to chase them through the courts: all the way to Strasbourg if necessary.”

Dave Smith was represented by counsel David Renton and solicitor Declan Owens from the Free Representation Unit.

The decision means that a Full Merits Employment Tribunal is now set for January 2012.

On 30 – 31 August 2011 in the Central London Employment Tribunal, the UK construction industry will stand accused of systematically breaching the human rights of thousands of building workers

Dave Smith v Carillion Plc is a test case on the use of the Human Rights Act in employment law. The key evidence in the case is a 36 page secret blacklist file with information supplied by managers from the Carillion about Dave Smith, an engineer and union health and safety representative from the building industry.

When Dave Smith raised concerns about issues such as a near fatal accident at his workplace, senior managers secretly added his name to a central blacklisting database available to other employers in the industry

The blacklist file includes Dave’s name, address, national insurance number, work history, photographs, his car, union safety representative’s credentials, newspaper cuttings, and details about his family.

The blacklist was compiled by a shady organisation called the Consulting Association and covertly shared among the Directors of 44 of the UK’s largest multi-national construction firms in order to deny employment to trade unionists and workers who raised concerns about safety

The blacklisting scandal was uncovered following a raid by the Information Commissioner’s Office in 2009; 3,216 building workers were on the blacklist which was used to unlawfully remove them from major construction projects

Dave Smith commented: “I was a qualified engineer but during one of the biggest building booms the industry has ever experienced, I was on the dole. Employment agencies stopped ringing me and my kids were on milk tokens. What Carillion and the major building firms did was a deliberate conspiracy against any workers who were prepared to take a stand for basic safety issues.

“A celebrity gets their mobile phone hacked by News International: it’s front page news, with debates in parliament and criminal charges. 3,000 building workers have had their lives ruined by multi-national construction firms – where is our justice?”

Declan Owens of the Free Representation Unit (Mr Smith’s solicitor) stated: “I was shocked to learn about Mr Smith’s treatment by the major construction companies that subscribed to The Consulting Association and the conspiracy in relation to his blacklisting by them.  Mr Smith has led a brave campaign on behalf of his fellow blacklisted victims and set up a support group on their behalf.  He is seeking to change the law in the interests of his fellow workers, which is very admirable.

“I hope that we are able to persuade the Tribunal to give Mr Smith the justice he deserves as well as to secure the protection under the Human Rights Act of other workers from the continued exploitation that they often face within the construction industry”.

Smith v Carillion is the first case where a barrister is using Human Rights legislation to persuade the Tribunal that existing legislation should be interpreted in such a way that it upholds Mr Smith’s human rights, even if this means creating new case law

If Dave wins, it will make it much easier for other workers to bring claims calling for employment laws to be read compatibly with the European Convention.

If Dave loses, the case looks set to end up in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

• The Blacklist Support Group is urging concerned individuals to join its protest.

A delegation of blacklisted trade unionists and safety representatives from the Blacklist Support Group held private talks in Brussels last week with EU commissioner for employment, social affairs and inclusion László Andor.

The meeting was facilitated by Labour MEPs Stephen Hughes and Glenis Willmott and the delegation said that the “genuinely positive response from Commissioner Andor exceeded all our expectations.”

Mr Andor was given documentary evidence from victimised union reps Brian Higgins, Steve Acheson and Dave Smith. Each presented secret blacklist files kept about their activities as union safety reps in the British construction industry.

The files were compiled by the now defunct covert blacklisting outfit The Consulting Association, closed down the Information Commissioner’s Office. They contain damning evidence that major multinational building firms systematically dismissed and victimised workers who raised concerns about health and safety issues or unpaid wages.

Steve Acheson, a blacklisted electrician and secretary of the Manchester contracting branch of UNITE, said: “We have been victimised by these firms just because we have stood up for safety issues; a cabin to dry wet clothes, asbestos, holiday pay, basic electrical checks.

“For many of us this conspiracy has meant years on the dole and family strains. But we are not just fighting for ourselves. This evil practice is almost certainly taking place in other industries and in other countries across Europe.

“I refuse to sit in my front room at home and turn into an old man, instead I choose to campaign on behalf of young workers in Poland, Spain, Greece, Ireland and any workers in Europe who are prepared to stand up for their basic human rights.”

Commenting after the meeting, MEP Stephen Hughes said: “The meeting was very positive and the delegation received a fair hearing. Mr Andor said he was very concerned at reports that the practice was continuing. Blacklisting is a genuine issue which affects all member states and I will work with colleagues to address this serious concern and apply parliamentary pressure to trigger action.”

Mr Hughes, who is a senior figure in European Parliament’s Employment and Social Affairs committee, added: “This meeting is the beginning, not the end, of a process. Once we have planted the seed with Commissioner Andor, we will follow up with action in the European Parliament’s employment committee and the full parliament.”

Regulations banning blacklisting came into force in the UK last year but have been criticised by unions, employment law experts and campaigners as too lax and with two few rights of redress for affected individuals. There is no specific EU-wide legislation against blacklisting of individuals for safety reasons.

The Blacklist Support Group says the construction companies identified by the Information Commissioner’s Office as guilty of blacklisting include many multinationals.

These include Swedish firm Skanska, Bam from the Netherlands, Vinci from France, Ireland’s Laing O’Rourke and UK based multinationals including Sir Robert McAlpine, Balfour Beatty, Kier, Costain and Carillion (UK).