Wednesday 16 April 2014

Court orders ICO to give workers' personal details to blacklisting firms!

 We are publishing below the latest briefing from the Blacklist Support Group (BSG).

"High Court latest:

The blacklisting High Court claim was meant to be in court this week but because of the early retirement of the judge on the case it was postponed. We expect to be back in court in June - July. 

In another appalling twist it has been revealed that the ICO has handed over the complete list of names, addresses and national insurance numbers directly to the blacklisting firms after a court order was issued - giving them a ready made blacklist database that was supposedly going to be put out of business.  

GMB is currently taking out a High Court injunction to find out what this secret court order is all about. GMB statement reads:

"Both Pinsents Masons (firms lawyers) and the ICO have refused to give us a copy of the order claiming it is bound a practise direction of secrecy. Yesterday our lawyers attended the High Court, and Master Leslie told our lawyers that we should be allowed to see the order. Overnight the administration office of the court has refused to give us the order on the basis that it is a secret order. We have been told that the order restrict the persons or classes of persons who may obtain a copy of the order."


We didn't think this scandal could get any more murkier - it now appears that a government department has handed the blacklisting firms the most up to date contacts details of all the workers they blacklisted. And all done in secret. Literally lost for words. 


3. Compensation Scheme latest

The blacklisting firms have let it slip that they intend to unilaterally launch their own compensation scheme without the support of the unions, Blacklist Support Group or Guney Clark & Ryan solicitors. Since they first announced their scheme last year the firms have completely failed to grasp the fact that their evil conspiracy has actually affected peoples lives. They treat us now with the exact same disdain they treated us when they denied us work. 

Under the firms blacklist compensation scheme, the vast majority of workers would be entitled to £3,000 and not a single blacklisted worker will be offered a job. This is an insult to the workers whose lives they have ruined over decades. 

Blacklisting is a major human rights conspiracy that is likely to result in the firms being banned from future publicly funded contracts until such time that they come clean. If Labour wins the Election, they will be facing a big hit on their profits. But the firms, their expensive lawyers and spin doctors still think they have done nothing wrong. It is the business ethics of Don Corleone. Until they wise up, their misnamed compensation scheme is a non-starter. If the firms intend to unilaterally launch their ten bob scheme it will be without the endorsement of the Blacklist Support Group and the blacklisted workers that we represent. Any compensation scheme agreed solely by the perpetrators is not justice. BSG suggest that everyone avoids this PR stunt like the plague. 

BSG slogan is: "No talks about us - without us" 



4. Blacklist Support Group met with Christian Khan solicitors again last week after we were contacted by Operation Herne - the police investigation into undercover police spying on the Lawrence family and other activists. BSG reiterate our position that we will have nothing to do with the police investigation themselves - the interim Herne report is a total whitewash and exonerates the police of every single allegation made against them in relation to blacklisting and is in complete opposition to the information that has already been disclosed to the BSG and our lawyers by the IPCC and the ICO. 

5. Call for public Inquiry continues
The only way to get this scandal fully exposed is by a public inquiry - BSG urge all our supporters to raise the issue within their networks and with their MPs. 

6. Art against Blacklisting
BSG Artist in Residence, Thatch Mi-ous has set up a FB page for artists using blacklisting as an inspiration - any artist whether a graphic artist, painter, photographer or musician is welcome to post their work on the page. (an example attached) 

7. Agency workers walk outs
Last two weeks have seen a number of walk outs and disputes on building sites by agency workers demanding to be taken on the cards after the recent tax changes. 


8. Blacklisting is a global phenomenon 
International Union Rights magazine - Special Edition on blacklisting out now
Global union magazine read by unions, lawyers & academics - article includes blacklisting articles from Australia, Colombia, Turkey, France, the North Sea and the UK. 

Mexican migrant workers blacklisted by Canadian authorities when they joined a union: http://www.eturbonews.com/43970/mexico-found-guilty-blacklisting-mexican-migrant-workers-canada


9. Caroline Murphy - head of Murphys resignation - statement on blacklisting 


Have a good break everyone 
Keep the faith

Dave


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1 comment:

Blacklisted electrician said...

This is very worrying!:
'[That] the blacklisting firms have let it slip that they intend to unilaterally launch their own compensation scheme without the support of the unions, Blacklist Support Group or Guney Clark & Ryan solicitors.'

Chances are that the blacklisters will now try to do out-of-court deals with individual workers to buy them off. If this goes ahead none of the company bastards will be dragged through the Courts.