{"id":130,"date":"2009-08-05T05:20:31","date_gmt":"2009-08-05T04:20:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hazards.org\/blacklistblog\/?p=130"},"modified":"2009-08-05T05:21:28","modified_gmt":"2009-08-05T04:21:28","slug":"britain-major-construction-firms-face-deluge-of-blacklisting-scandal-legal-cases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hazards.org\/blacklistblog\/2009\/08\/05\/britain-major-construction-firms-face-deluge-of-blacklisting-scandal-legal-cases\/","title":{"rendered":"Britain: Major construction firms face deluge of blacklisting scandal legal cases"},"content":{"rendered":"

Statement from the Blacklist Support Group<\/strong><\/p>\n

Major construction firms face deluge of blacklisting scandal legal cases<\/p>\n

The Blacklist Support Group (a cross-union network representing blacklisted workers) issued a statement: “fullying supporting the actions of the Information Commissioner for<\/em>\u00a0today launching legal proceedings against 14 of the UK’s leading construction companies because of their involvement in illegal blacklisting of building workers because of their trade union membership\u00a0and for raising safety concerns.”<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a06 of the 14 companies are divisions of Balfour Beatty. <\/p>\n

The full list is:
\nBalfour Beatty Civil Engineering
\nBalfour Beatty Construction Northern
\nBalfour Beatty Construction Scottish & Southern
\nBalfour Beatty Engineering Services (HY)
\nBalfour Beatty Engineering Services
\nBalfour Beatty Infrastructure Services
\nCB&I UK
\nEmcor Engineering Services
\nEmcor Rail
\nKier
\nNG Bailey
\nShepherd Engineering Services
\nSIAS Building Services
\nWhessoe Oil & Gas<\/p>\n

\u00a0The Blacklist Support Group statements continues:<\/p>\n

The Information Commissioner is doing a fine job of exposing the illegal actions of these bluechip companies, but we intend to\u00a0chase them by any means open to us, including getting the law changed and legal cases. Trade unions; Unite and UCATT\u00a0have already launched Employment Tribunal claims\u00a0the companies for discrimination due to trade union memebrship.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0The initial arguement\u00a0put up\u00a0by the lawyers representing the firms, that the cases should not even be heard because they were out of time has already been defeated in the tribunal case taken by steel erector Phil Willis against CB&I.<\/em><\/p>\n

With over 3000 workers on the blacklist and with a maximum pay-out at tribunal of \u00a380,000 per case, the construction firms could face a major financial\u00a0headache if precedents are set, opening\u00a0the floodgates\u00a0to future claims.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0Dave Smith a claimant against Balfour Beatty \u00a0<\/p>\n

“I\u00a0am a qualified Engineer,\u00a0my only crime was\u00a0to raise genuine concerns about asbestos and the appalling state of the toilet facilities on some building sites.\u00a0Yet Balfour Beatty and the other construction\u00a0firms\u00a0illegally and covertly provided information\u00a0about me which was used to compile a blacklist file. This was used to stop me gaining work and eventually led to me being unemployed. The companies cannot deny it, the Information Commissioner and the courts have all the\u00a0paperwork and \u00a33000 a year invoices\u00a0they all paid\u00a0are now\u00a0in the\u00a0public domain.<\/em><\/p>\n

“My file is damning evidence against\u00a0Balfour Beatty\u00a0but\u00a0the\u00a0court case is not about being a victim. Its about justice for\u00a0decent\u00a0\u00a0building workers who\u00a0made honest complaints about safety, its about\u00a0major companies not being above the law, its about human rights.”<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights is the right to free assembly and association (the right to trade union membership). The Human Rights Act enshrines that right in UK law. The Blacklist Support group is calling upon the courts to protect\u00a0these human rights that have so blatantly been breached by the blacklisting building firms.<\/p>\n

Steve Kelly\u00a0a Unite London construction workers’ activist pointed out that “the Employment Relations Act gave the government the authority to make blacklists illegal 10 years ago, but they chose not to do it because of the lobbying of the self-same comapnies who are now in court”<\/em><\/p>\n

“It is a disgrace that the government has to hold a consultation about it now, but even if the blacklists are made illegal then that would still not prevent companies who already have workers’ names on file from continuing to use them,” <\/em><\/p>\n

“Companies such as Balfour Beatty, Costain and Carillion are not setting fire to this list anytime soon, and that’s why we need to organise to give those on the blacklist a coherent, collective voice,”<\/em><\/p>\n

for individual interviews with Blacklisted building workers contact\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

blacklistSG@googlemail.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Blacklist Support Group<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Statement from the Blacklist Support Group Major construction firms face deluge of blacklisting scandal legal cases The Blacklist Support Group (a cross-union network representing blacklisted workers) issued a statement: “fullying supporting the actions of the Information Commissioner for\u00a0today launching legal proceedings against 14 of the UK’s leading construction companies because of their involvement in illegal … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Britain: Major construction firms face deluge of blacklisting scandal legal cases”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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