NOT ALONE Frank Morris, on the megaphone, is one of thousands of victimised construction workers in the UK.
Union protesters blocked the entrance to London’s Olympic site last week in support of victimised construction worker Frank Morris.
The Enfield-based electrician was shifted from his job at the prestigious media centre at the Olympic site after blowing the whistle on the use of an illegal blacklist on the construction project.
His dismissal by subcontractor Daletech Services followed weeks of intimidation and threats of violence by members of senior management after he had raised concerns about the dismissal of a co-worker.
The Consulting Association’s list was used particularly to target construction safety activists.
In an ongoing campaign, 30 trade unionists on 7 April 2011 stood at the main gates and prevented vehicles and trade passing through in order to highlight the case of Mr Morris and others blacklisted by construction firms.
RMT London regional organiser Steve Hedley, who addressed the rally, said the show of strength had been “good natured and very lively,” insisting that trade unionists would “not take the blacklisting lying down.”
He added: “We will continue to fight the illegal blacklist. This is an issue of human rights as well as trade union rights and the RMT will be in the forefront of the campaign.”
A Blacklist Support Group spokesperson said union members were being blacklisted right across Britain. He told the Morning Star newspaper: “There are union stewards sacked and blacklisted from Fiddlers Ferry Power Station in Warrington and the Olympics in London.
“The employers ignore national Blue Book agreements and regularly sack anyone who stands up for their rights.”
He added: “The Olympics is the most high-profile construction project in the world. Any action at the Olympics will be headline news.
“Let’s show the construction firms that we got some self-respect.”
Whistleblowing charity
Balfour Beatty’s safety award is a ‘joke’
Trade unionists have branded as ‘a joke’ the award of a prestigious health and safety prize to construction firm Balfour Beatty. The company received the Sir George Earle Trophy from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) despite being notorious for sacking and blacklisting health and safety reps.
Balfour Beatty, in a citation for RoSPA’s top award, was “commended not only the way that safety representatives were pulled into practical problem-solving activities but also the company’s policy of valuing and acting on ideas from the workforce and its overall approach, which was not to punish or to stigmatise but always to encourage behaviour change by entering into dialogue and by celebrating success.”
Balfour Beatty’s Scottish and Southern managing director Bob Clark claimed: “The award recognises the ongoing effort, commitment and engagement of our employees in promoting a safe working culture.”
The award prompted an angry response from trade union safety campaigners. Blacklist Support Group spokesperson Steve Kelly said: “At first I thought this was a joke. Balfour Beatty are the construction company with the worst record of sacking and blacklisting safety representatives in the entire industry. To be praised for the way they treat their safety representatives is offensive.”
Balfour Beatty was a major contributor to The Consulting Association, the illegal blacklisting organisation that targeted trade union safety activists. The construction giant received an enforcement notice from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for breaches of the Data Protection Act and has been found by employment tribunals to have blacklisted workers.
RMT regional organiser Steve Hedley urged the government to launch a public inquiry into the blacklisting “scandal.” He told the Morning Star: “This is reward for appalling behaviour,” adding that firms involved in the blacklist “should be levied with a fine which should be distributed amongst blacklisted workers.”
The Consulting Association was shut down by ICO. Its former head Ian Kerr was prosecuted in 2009 and fined £5,000 for breaches of the Data Protection Act.