Tuesday 24 November 2009

How much is Amicus implicated in Blacklisting?

Phil Chamberlain's report in The Guardian on Saturday 21st November contained an item from Ian Kerr's blacklist database:
Mick Anderson, 40, married with 3 children, from Kerry, Ireland.
Submitted 250 job applications and took courses to keep his electrical training up to date but was out of work 16 months... His file includes this extract:
'Information received by 3271/81 site manager at Heathrow T5 that the above is "not recommended" by amicus.'
If officers in Amicus, now merged with the Transport & General Workers' Union in Unite the Union, have been involved in informing on individual electricians this is a serious matter and one that deserves to be investigated. Up to now Tommy Hardacre, a national Unite the Union officer and formerly from Amicus, has asked those fighting the blacklist to 'name the names' of those involved, but, as he knows, the names of the Amicus informers in Ian Kerr's blacklist data files have been blacked-out by the Information Commissioner's Office acting under the data protection laws. Rather than hiding behind the fig-leaf of data protection, Tommy Hardacre should now be more concerned to clear the good name of the Unite the Union by launching an investigation to expose those inside the union who may, in the past, have been guilty of trading in names for Ian Kerr's blacklist.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Correction: Read article in the Guardian. It is Heathrow T5 not Hether T5 which as been misspelt in part of the article.