Unite aim to put blacklister in Court

RISKS Number 887:
RISKS is the TUC's weekly online bulletin for safety reps and others sponsored by Thompsons Solicitors.   Sign up to receive this bulletin every week.  Past issues are available. Disclaimer and Privacy Editor: Rory O'Neill of Hazards magazine.  Comments to the TUC at healthandsafety@tuc.org.uk.  SENT TO NV by Joe Bailey:
A CONSTRUCTION boss who played a pivotal role in orchestrating a blacklisting scandal that targeted union safety activists will face the courts, the union Unite has pledged.   The union said it “is closing in” on Cullum McAlpine who it wants to account for his actions in court. Unite is taking fresh legal action on behalf of workers who were blacklisted by the Consulting Association.  Most of the major construction companies in the UK used the illegal service.   Unlike the previous court case which concluded in 2016, Unite says it will be seeking to ensure Cullum McAlpine, the original chair of the Consulting Association and a director of UK construction giant Sir Robert McAlpine, is required to give evidence in court under oath. The trial is set to begin on 4 June and could last for six weeks.

Unite assistant general secretary Howard Beckett said: “Unite is totally committed to ensuring that the key individuals behind blacklisting workers and ruining their lives as a result are required to account for their crimes in the public arena of a court.”   He added: “This is the minimum that the affected workers deserve.   They need to see those responsible in the dock and finally forced to account for their actions.   The forthcoming court case will finally ensure this will happen.”   

Unite assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail said: “There remain employers in construction and other industries who continue to believe it is somehow acceptable to engage in the disgusting and deceitful practice of blacklisting, to ruin people’s lives.  We are seeing blacklisting ‘outsourced’ to labour suppliers at the beck and call of large firms and acting as unaccountable instigators of union busting.  That’s why Unite is still fighting for justice for those who were previously affected but is also fighting to stamp out contemporary blacklisting.”

Banking Crisis, Blacklisting & Justice

Clearing the air in banking crisis & blacklist scandal
by Brian Bamford

LAST weekend, a Financial Times (FT) editorial explained the purpose of the legal process:

'The law tries cases and metes out punishment for a number of reasons.  Securing restitution for damage done and deterring future misdeeds are the most respectable and most often cited.  There ais subtler reason, though, one that is easily forgotten.  Justice often consists in simply setting the record straight, in saying  what happens in a clear, public and final way.  If this last element is neglected, old wounds can remain open.'

The F.T. editor was referring in this case to the financial crisis, and the current specific shareholder suit against the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) as an example.  The RBS shareholders are after money compensation, and are seeking £700 million, claiming that they were misled by the bank ahead of a £12 billion rights issue in 2008, which was then followed by a state bailout and a further collapse in the value of the shares.  

Some of the shareholders who suffered from the shakedown by the bank and refused offers of a settlement say they want fundamental questions answered publicly.  'It's about seeing the ex-directors in court and for all what happened,' one said.

The F.T. editor focusing on the Royal Bank of Scotland writes:

'The shareholders would, more specifically, want to see former RBS chief executive Fred Goodwin in the dock.  Mr Goodwin has, to a degree, been punished already.  He has lost his job, of course, and his knighthood was stripped away five years ago.  After a fight he was forced to accept a reduction in his pension.  But, aside from an appearance in front of a Commons inquiry, he has not had to answer publicly for what he happened at RBS or his role in it.'

Essentially neither the banking crisis nor, more importance to us, the issue of blacklisting in the British building trade is about one man or about one bank or about one construction company.  They are both issues of concern to the country as a whole. 

The banking and the financial crisis with its mis-selling and price-fixing scandals has ended up involving the tax-payer, and the state is still saddled with three-quarters of ownership of RBS.  And the government has recently accepted that it may never square the circle.  Yet, as the F.T. editor points out 'nearly a decade after the crisis, no senior UK bank executive has yet been a defendant in a civil or criminal trial as a result of the banking sectors' decimation by bad loans, risky funding and ill-structured products.'

The blacklisted workers in the British building trade would immediately recognise this scenario as described above.  Despite blacklisting on a vast scale which is in all probability continuing, no culpable executive in the construction industry has had to appear in person before a criminal court in this country.  True compensation has been paid by the companies to the victims of blacklisting in out-of-court settlements, but apart from people like Callum McAlpine having to appear in front of the Scottish Affairs Select Committee with his solicitor by his side, there has been no proper admission of guilt.  Indeed, Mr. McAlpine told the Scottish Affairs Select Committee he'd been advised by hie solicitor that he couldn't answer any questions on the grounds of.sub judice.

It does not seem that the blacklisted electricians on the British building sites will ever get full justice through the courts; Dave Smith, as an agency worker, recently lost his case at the European Court of Human Rights  That is 'full justice' of the kind of sense of justice which according to the F.T. editorial above 'consists in simply setting the record straight, in saying  what happens in a clear, public and final way.'

Consequently, unless  the Labour Party comes to power in the forthcoming general election and establishes an independent public inquiry into blacklisting as promised by some including the Blacklist Support Group, the air will never be cleared in the British building trade creating much disgruntlement among the workers and trade unionists, and construction companies will continue to impose forms of blacklisting throughout the industry.  Thus, old wounds will remain open in the British trade union movement.

Blacklisting Cost of Disclosure

1. HIGH Court orders blacklist firms to disclose further evidence and issues costs of £100k against them.

Last Friday (22 Jan), the High Court made judgements against blacklisting firms; Balfour Beatty, Carillion, Costain, Kier, Laing O’Rourke, Sir Robert McAlpine, Skanska UK and Vinci PLC ordering them to disclose further evidence from back up computer tapes of emails that despite previous court orders, they had failed to provide. 

The 2 day hearing before Lord Justice Supperstone and Master Leslie, heard revelation after revelation about the extent of destruction of documents by the firms relating to their involvement with the Consulting Association blacklisting body. The final decision of the hearing resulted in costs being awarded against the companies to cover the full 2 day hearing, estimated to be in excess of £100,000. 

Dinah Rose QC, representing the 600 blacklisted workers in the litigation told the court that household names such as "Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd, Balfour Beatty and Carillion had destroyed the lives of thousands of working men and women" and that their continued conduct was designed to "cover their tracks". 

The role of Cullum McAlpine, director of Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd (SRM) and founding Chairman of the Consulting Association blacklisting body came in for particular criticism. Despite a court order requiring full disclosure, not a single email or document to or from Cullum McAlpine, his personal assistant or from David Cochrane final chairman of TCA have been disclosed. The court was even told how in 2011 all hard copies of correspondence between Cullum McAlpine and the Consulting Association had been destroyed. Dinah Rose QC told the court that "Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd has been evasive with conduct intended to conceal the central role of Cullum McAlpine. Cullum McAlpine is a very important man, for the sake of retaining trust in the British legal system, he must not allowed to get away with a cover up."

The court was also shown evidence that David Cochrane (SRM) chairman of the Consulting Association at the time of its discovery had contacted the blacklisting organisation's cheif executive Ian Kerr instructing him to "ring everyone - destroy all the data". It was revealed that Cochrane had told Kerr to keep Cullum McAlpine's name out of the press and large sus of money were transferred to the bank account of Ian Kerr's daughters in the summer of 2009.   

Balfour Beatty were also highlighted when it was revealed that despite instructions to the contrary, the PC and laptop of Elaine Gallagher, main contact for the company with TCA had both been wiped in April 2013. Trevor Watcham from balfour baetty was chairman of the Consulting Association from 2004-5 but his entire email history was deleted in 2011 and not a single document from him has been disclosed. It was also disclosed to the court that an internal Balfour Beatty database containing the names of construction workers who had been involved in union activities had been discovered on the laptop of Gerry Harvey, director of Human Resources, still employed by the company at their Glasgow head office. The comments "not required" and "do not re-employ" appeared next to the names of the union members and the document was found after the discovery of the Consulting Association blacklist was exposed in March 2009.  Lord Justice Supperstone commented "If the firms were professional enough to cover up their actions, did they also cover up more internal databases?"

Edmund Nourse QC representing the McFarlanes defendants said that "no impropriety whatsoever" could be implied over the destruction of the documents, which were merely "unfortunate mistakes".

Dinah Rose described the McFarlanes position on non disclosure and destruction of evidence as "bonkers" and described an expert witness statement provided by the firms as "disgraceful and intended to mislead". 

Dave Smith from the Blacklist Support Group commented afterwards:

"All of the platitudes and half apologies, all their crocodile tears and claims of rogue managers from the companies over the past six or seven years are clearly nonsense. Documents have been destroyed and Directors of multinational companies are hiding stuff on their laptops. It calls into question all of the promises made to Parliament and the High Court. I am not a lawyer but I would have thought that destroying evidence that would almost certainly have been used in a court case might be considered perverting the course of justice.

The lawyers seemed particularly keen to keep any evidence about Cullum McAlpine being disclosed -  this wretch set up and was the funding chairman of the Consulting association. He was intimately involved in its operation over many years. What could he possibly have to hide?”

http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-bda7-Blacklisters-pay-for-deleting-evidence

http://www.unitetheunion.org/news/high-court-orders-construction-firms-to-release-blacklisting-information/

2. Undercover police targeting activists

More revelations have come out this week about undercover police spying on activists in court admissions by the Met Police and press articles exposing newly discovered spycops who targeted trade unions, grieving families of murder victims, community justice campaigns, environmental activists, socialist political parties and animal rights groups. The Pitchford public inquiry into undercover policing has been set up to investigate the abuses carried out by these secret police political spying units. All of the information that has so far been discovered is due to activists, dedicated researchers and investigative journalists. The police continue to use the strategy of 'Neither Confirm Nor Deny' as a way of thwarting the truth. The Blacklist Support Group working alongside other core participants and the Campaign Opposing Police Surveillance (COPS) is calling for Lord Justice Pitchford to demand that the police release the cover names of all the undercover officers who have operated since 1968. Only then, will we know the full extent of the peaceful campaigns infiltrated and undemocractic practices carried out by the secret state.  

http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-8c5a-New-spy-cop-exposed-as-Met-lose-court-case

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/we-were-both-victims-mets-7217150#Gdfy4gB3auK5aZ0b.97

https://theferret.scot/secret-police-files-political-activists-scotland/

3. Labour plan to ban blacklist firms from public contracts? 

http://www.constructionnews.co.uk/10001779.article?WT.tsrc=email&WT.mc_id=CN_Daily-Newsletter210116&cm_ven=ExactTarget&cm_cat=CN+Daily+News+%28R%29&cm_pla=Construction+News&cm_lm=gfr15%40dial.pipex.com

4. Dave Smith's magistrates court case has been POSTPONED - and will not now be taking place this week. He has now been on police bail for nearly 12 months since his arrest for protesting about blacklisting on the Crossrail project. 

5. 'Blacklisted' book makes the Bread & Roses award longlist 

Phil Chamberlain & Dave Smith issued the following statement: "WOOP WOOP" 

https://breadandrosesprize.wordpress.com/2016/01/21/the-bread-and-roses-longlist-2016/

6. Dates for the diary

1st Feb - High Court - pre-hearings continue

5th Feb - Trumbo - film about the Hollywood blacklist during the McCarthy era starring Brian Cranston (Breaking Bad) is released in UK cinemas. This is a great opportunity for supporters locally to write to local newspapers saying that blacklisting is not something that only happened 50-60 years ago in the USA. Its still going on today in the UK.  

6th Feb - National construction rank & file meeting in Glasgow

Blacklist Support Group

book: http://newint.org/books/politics/blacklisted-secret-war/

video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlCa8yQmZ70

blog: www.hazards.org/blacklistblog

facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/blacklistSG/

McAlpine' Thugees assault 'Blacklist' protester!

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

Metropolitan Police officers this morning (Fri 21st Feb 2014) attended the London offices of Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd as an arrest warrant was served for Cullum McAlpine for his role in the Consulting Association scandal. This weekend if the 5th anniversary of the raid by the Information Commissioner's Office that discovered the illegal building industry blacklist.

The arrest warrant cited breaches of the European Convention on Human Rights, the Health & Safety at Work Act and the Data Protection Act.

When giving evidence to a Select Committee investigation into blacklisting Cullum McAlpine was forced to admit that the was the first chairman of the Consulting Association conspiracy (a post he held for 3 years) and that the first meetings of the shady organisation were actually held in his office at the the Sir Robert McAlpine Limited offices in Grosvenor Crescent, Victoria.

The illegal database held secret files on 3213 individuals which included information such as name, address, national insurance number, phone numbers, car registration and particularly recorded trade union membership and incidents where workers had complained about health & safety on building sites. Those workers that appeared on the blacklist suffered years of unemployment, repeated dismissals and financial hardship.

During the building of the Olympics Stadium in 2008-9, Sir Robert McAlpine was invoiced in excess of £28,000 for blacklisting name checks - which equates to 65 name checks a day, 7 days a week for the period.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating police involvement in blacklisting and has already confirmed that Special Branch "routinely provided information about prospective employees"

Six police vehicles from the Met Police Emergency Response Unit visited site at 10:45am, as the Citizens Arrest Warrant was being served by members of the Blacklist Support Group who had occupied the top floor of the construction company's office block.

Dave Smith, secretary of the Blacklist Support Group said:

"Blacklisted workers have lost their houses and our kids were on free school meals while Cullum McApline is the lord of the Manor in his £4.5million Grade 1 Listed Mansion in Cold Ashton.

In any civilized society, McAlpine and his co-conspirators would be behind bars .

We visited the birthplace of the Consulting Association to carry out a citizens arrest.

We were pleased when the Met Police arrived and assisted in our search for Cullum McAlpine.

It shows how seriously the authorities are taking corporate crime."

Blacklisted activist Helen Steele said,

 

"It has been 5 years since this conspiracy between big business and the police was discovered.

Trade unionists and environmental activists have had their human rights violated.

But 5 yeas later, no one has been brought to justice for the crimes they have committed.

Its about time Cullum McAlpine was in the dock"

Sir Robert McAlpine and seven other major construction firms involved in blacklisting are joint defendants in the High Court conspiracy case - next court date April.

The other companies in the High Court action are: Skanska, Costains, Laing O'Rourke, Kier, Vinci, Carillion and Balfour Beatty.

Press Photos:

http://guy-smallman-photos.photoshelter.com/gallery/Blacklist-Support-Group-McAlpine-Demo-21-2-14/G00007HX9ZIuPbGA