Say 'No' To Hate Crime

by Les May

ELLA Whelan, author of the book ‘What Women Want: Fun, Freedom and an End to Feminism’, has described the campaign by MP Stella Creasy to have misogyny classified as a hate crime as, ‘a top-down act of virtue-signalling by a handful of MPs and feminists, and an affront to freedom’.

https://www.spiked-online.com/2018/09/06/stella-creasys-war-on-thoughtcrime/

It’s top down because as she points out women are not marching in the streets for the criminalisation of misogyny.  It’s an affront to freedom because it seeks to punish individuals for what they think, not what they do, i.e. thought crime.

Now whilst I share Ella Whelan’s view on this there is I think a more practical objection.   If you think you’ve witnessed a hate crime, who you gonna call? Certainly not ‘The Ghost Busters’!  It’s the police of course.

The problem is that the police may not understand what constitutes a hate crime and what constitutes free speech.

A week ago it was reported that in Bath city centre a Christian street preacher by the name of Dale McAlpine was threatened with arrest and forced to leave the area.  Police issued a dispersal notice to a group of preachers and ordered them to leave the city centre.   It seems that one of the officers involved claimed they were committing a ‘hate crime’.

The outcome? Avon and Somerset police have contacted all police staff in Bath ‘to ensure they understand the importance of freedom of expression’.

https://www.premier.org.uk/News/UK/Police-apologise-to-Bath-street-preacher-threatened-with-arrest

It isn’t the first time that McAlpine has been in trouble for expressing unpopular views.   In 2010 was arrested after he told a Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) that as a Christian he believed homosexuality was a sin.   As the term ‘hate crime’ was not fashionable then, the PCSO contented himself with having McAlpine arrested for making ‘homophobic remarks’.

The outcome? The charges were dropped and police in Cumbria agreed to pay him £7,000 in compensation as well as his legal costs.  McAlpine responded ‘I hope the police will in future do their duty defending freedom of speech.’

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1339843/Homosexuality-sin-street-preacher-wins-7k-police.html

I may not have any sympathy with McAlpine’s beliefs, but I’m glad that he’s there.  It’s people like him that remind us that freedom of expression applies to people you disagree with as well as those whose views coincide with yours.  The alternative is the echo chamber of social media where you need only listen to views that coincide with your own.

My motivation in writing this is primarily my concern that the eagerness of some people on hearing something they do not like to resort to words like, racist, anti-semitic, islamo-phobic, misogynistic, trans-phobic, homo-phobic, patriarchal or hate speech, prevents reasoned discussion and, if we self censor to avoid being so labelled, effectively denies us freedom of expression.   (It is not without interest that the PCSO who had McAlpine arrested is himself a homosexual.)  But in Stella Creasy’s case there is something else.

Creasy is credited with having championed payday loan fee caps and more recently has urged a crackdown on high cost credit cards. I admire this and say more power to her elbow. I just wish she would not waste her time trying to solve a non-existent problem. Perhaps she is not immune to vanity.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/mar/27/stella-creasy-to-call-for-crackdown-on-high-cost-credit-cards

Morning Star & Trade Union Treachery

The Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union is implicated in today’s Consulting Association blacklist scandal.

Stevie Stevenson below in the

Monday 8^th

posted by Morning Star in Features examines its long history of treachery

---

THE courts will soon hear a blacklisting 'super-case' after the granting of group litigation, which means that hundreds of separate cases of blacklisted workers will be taken on as one single case.
One of the main firms implicated, McAlpine, has named 34 other co-defendants, including most of the other major construction companies.

The trade unions must be aware that as part of their defence, the construction employers will attempt to use the same kind of smears and distortions used in the infamous Shrewsbury Pickets trial of the 1970s. They will once again be supported by the right-wing press and media.
There can also be little doubt that the role of trade union full-time officials will be scrutinised.
Many contracting electricians have been angered to find that the information on their Consulting Association blacklist file indicates complicity by officials of the former Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union (EETPU).

The construction trade press has reported on this 'collusion' and the blacklist victims are hoping that the court case will reveal the redacted names of those union officials.

I myself was put on the blacklist by the EETPU. My Consulting Association blacklist file states that I was an Electrical Plumbing Industrial Union shop steward in a three-month strike on a Manchester construction site in 1995.

I have never worked in Manchester. In fact, at that time I had recently started work with my local authority building direct labour organisation in Swansea, where I worked until retirement in 2013.
At that time, the TUC expelled EETPU, but it then merged with the Amalgamated Engineering Union (AEU) as a means of restoring TUC unity.

They were deadlocked over structural integration and continued to operate as separate sections of the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union (AEEU).

Eventually the deadlock ended with an EETPU takeover led by Sir Ken Jackson. The renowned internal democracy of the AEU was eradicated.

The restoration of TUC unity by this means, meant that not only was the EETPU’s previous destructive activity effectively swept under the carpet, but some of its internal practices, like assisting in blacklisting, were allowed to continue.

A TUC 'conciliation process' in 1995 amounted to a typical TUC fudge designed to secure EETPU’s return.

The TUC had eventually been forced to expel the EETPU in 1988 over 'sweetheart deals'.
During that decade of the Thatcher government’s onslaught on the trade union movement, EETPU’s behaviour had been utterly treacherous. It included:

• Collusion with Tory Cabinet minister Norman Tebbit, who informed Parliament that he had taken advice on anti-trade union law from EETPU leader Frank Chapple.
• Collusion with Rupert Murdoch by supplying the scab labour which allowed him to sack his Fleet Street workforce.
• Collusion with the scab Union of Democratic Mineworkers.

EETPU’s complicity in blacklisting was part of an internal culture that had arisen during the 1970s following a so-called “Joint Industrial Board check-off” agreement whereby the electrical contracting employers actually paid the union contributions of all their employees.

In return the EETPU officials involved in that industry were obliged to 'police' the construction sites. Basically a case of he who pays the piper calls the tune.

The AEEU eventually became part of Amicus and then Unite.

Unite was formed by a merger of Amicus and the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) in 2007, two years before the Consulting Association blacklist was exposed in 2009.

So in 2007 there was no knowledge of any trade union officials being complicit in blacklisting.
Nevertheless, due diligence was carried out by Unite as the corrupt “JIB check-off” was ended at the insistence of the TGWU.

This latest exposure of the old EETPU’s behaviour raises the question of whether the trade union movement has learned the lesson.
The EETPU’s brand of trade unionism was more about organising the employers than organising the workers.

There has never been a more unprincipled, divisive and destructive TUC-affiliated union than EETPU.

TUC Congress House should be compelled to do what it has so far never done, to place on record its acknowledgement of that fact.

We must strive to ensure that the collaboration and sweetheart deals with employers, which led on to EETPU officials assisting in the blacklisting of union activists, is never allowed to happen again.

__________________________________________________________

 

For more information on this get a copy of 'BOY's on the BLACKLIST'

a recently researched investigation into blacklisting in the British building trade

including the involvement of some paid trade union officers and the police, and

security services, published by Tameside Trade Union Council in October 20014. 

See below:

 

OUT now is Tameside TUC's study of blacklisting in the British building trade. This unique 52-page A5 book concludes our research into blacklisting stretching back for over a decade of struggle by a group of Manchester contracting electricians. This book illustrates a special investigation by two officers of Tameside TUC focusing on cover-ups, collaboration, and complicity by major British construction companies affiliated to the now defunct Consulting Association. We consider the behaviour of local authorities in providing contracts to companies that blacklist workers in the British building trade; especially those in the Greater Manchester area such as Tameside MBC, Salford and Manchester City Council. The book also asks questions as to who else was involved besides: what did the unions do to expose what was going on for decades; who were the whistle-blowers who helped to bring out the truth; what part did the police and special security services play in the history of blacklisting that goes back beyond the days of the Economic League?

Copies of 'Boys on the Blacklist' available by postal subscription:
£3.00 for one copy (post included).

Make cheque payable to 'Tameside TUC' and send to:
46, Kingsland Road, Rochdale, Lancs. OL11 3HQ.

Bundles of 5 copies - £14.60p a package (post included).

Tel.: 01706 861793.
e-mail: northernvoices@hotmail.com

Crossrail & the Blacklist Scandal

THE 2 largest publicly funded construction projects of the past decade, the Olympics and the Crossrail project both find themselves caught up in the very epicentre of the blacklisting scandal. 

After years of denials, firms who built the Olympics Park have finally admitted that they checked names of prospective workers with the illegal Consulting Association blacklist. In a letter sent to the Olympic Development Association chief executive Dennis Hone by Balfour Beatty construction chief executive Mike Peasland, the firm, which built the Olympic aquatics centre has admitted using the services of blacklisting organisation the Consulting Associationin 2008 to check prospective Olympics workers. The admission has been exposed in an article in Building Magazine by investigative journalist Will Hurst. 

Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd and Skanska (responsible for the Olympic Stadium and the Media Centre respectively) have both issued statements denying specific blacklisting on the Olympics project.

A statement for the Blacklist Support Group said:  
'The truth about the Olympics blacklisting is finally being uncovered.'

But even now, both Sir Robert McAlpine and Skanska have denied using the illegal Consulting Association blacklist to check prospective workers on the project. Blacklisted workers have had to listen to decades of lies and denials about the existence of a blacklist of trade unionists in the building industry. many of us tried repeatedly and failed to gain employment on the Olympics project and others who did manage to find a job were quickly removed or dismissed from the Olympics because of the blacklist. Even now, when the evidence in the pubic domain, the companies are still trying to spin the story. 

Between 2008-2009 both Skanska and Sir Robert McAlpine were each invoiced in excess of £28,000 by the Consulting Association for name checks of workers on their sites. This is the highest ever invoices paid by any firm subscribing to the blacklist.

From 2006-2009, David Cochrane, Head of Human Resources at Sir Robert McAlpine Limited was the chairman of the Consulting Association, a post that Stephen Quant, Director of Industrial Relations for Skanska at the time of the Olympics project had previously held.

Sir Robert McAlpine and Skanska please inform us what other major construction jobs they were undertaking during this period that needed so many blacklist name checks? 
The companies explanations are completely implausible and we look forward to when they face questions in the High Court and at the Select Committee investigation into blacklisting. Under no doubt, blacklisted workers intend to continue our fight for justice until these mutli-national firms face justice, apologise and compensate us for this systematic human rights abuse."

Cullum McAlpine, Director of Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd - part of the McAlpine dynasty - first Chairman of the Consulting Association, who personally bought the building industry blacklist from the Economic League and set up Ian Kerr in business is giving evidence to the Scottish Affairs Select Committee investigation into blacklisting on Tuesday 22nd Jan 2013.

Other blacklisting firms including Skanska, Balfour Beatty, Kier and Carillion are likely to be called to give evidence in the next few weeks. 

Bosses at Crossrail (the largest publicly funded project in Western Europe) are also under attack and have been forced to issue a statement after the Greater London Assembly passed a motion calling for an investigation into whether tax-payers money was being spent on blacklisting on the project. The GLA vote follows widespread concerns about victimisation and blacklisting of workers who raised safety concerns, on the project that has been closed down twice in the past few months during investigations by the Health & Safety Execeutive following major accidents at Holborn and Westbourne Park.

The Crossrail statement quoted in the Newham Recorder says:
"It is simply not true that 28 workers were removed from the project for raising health and safety concerns."

This statement relates to the ongoing Crossrail industrial dispute and Employment Tribunal claims following the removal of 28 UNITE union members who worked for the E.I.S. electrical firm. After E.I.S workers elected union reps who raised concerns about the safety of high voltage cables, the reps were suspended from site and a few weeks later, the E.I.S. contract was unexpectedly finished 3 years early.
The Head of Industrial Relations at Crossrail at the time of the victimisation of the union reps and cancellation of the contract was Ron Baron. Barron has now been sacked by Crossrail after it was discovered that he had Employment Tribunal judgments naming him as a leading blacklister.

The consortium building Crossrail is BFK (Bam - Ferrovial - Kier)

Ferrovial are a Spanish multi-national that owns Stanstead Airport. Bam and Kier are both proven blacklisters of trade unionists having been subscribers to the Consulting Association.

Danny O’Sullivan of Kier was previously the Chairman of the Consulting Association.

Both Crossrail and BFK have been named as respondents in an Employment Tribunal being taken by Frank Morris - blacklisted UNITE union rep. This claim is being brought under the new Blacklisting Regs 2010 that were introduced in the last days of the Labour government. What is different about these Regs is that the claimant doesn't need to be an employee of the company - they apply to any "person" - as Frank Morris did not work directly for Crossrail or BFK but for E.I.S. this will be a test case of how the law is applied.

Crossrail is also expected to be asked to give evidence at the Select Committee in due course.

Blacklisting Motion to London Assembly

This Assembly notes that links between the shameful and unlawful practice of blacklisting and Crossrail’s industrial relations manager, Ron Barron, risk tarnishing the integrity of this taxpayer-funded project.
To illustrate just how widespread blacklisting in the construction industry is, in February 2009 the Information Commissioner’s officials raided the offices of ‘The Consulting Association’, a firm operating a blacklist containing the names of thousands of construction workers[1]. Balfour Beatty, Carillion, Amec, Skanska, Taylor Woodrow, Sir Robert McAlpine (the Olympic Stadium contractor), and over thirty other construction companies used the Consulting Association database, which contained information about construction workers’ personal relationships, trade union activity, and employment history[2]. The Observer reported on 29 July 2012 that “records suggest McAlpine alone spent £28,000 on checks”[3], and that “Eighty-six men are suing Sir Robert McAlpine for £17m in lost earnings[4]”.

The Observer later reported on 2 December 2012 that “Ron Barron…cross-checked job applicants against a secret list of workers to be barred from the industry…introduced the use of the blacklist at his former employer, the construction firm CB&I, and referred to it more than 900 times in 2007 alone.”[5].

This Assembly notes that the Chief Executive of the London Legacy Development Corporation has partially addressed concerns about the issue of blacklisting on the Olympic Park and other ODA projects. However, the Assembly awaits with interest the response of the Information Commissioner’s Office regarding whether any ODA Tier 1 contractors carried out checks through the Consulting Association.

Given Dennis Hone’s “regret” that concerns regarding blacklisting on the Olympics have been raised after project completion, this Assembly calls upon the Mayor to provide evidence of steps taken to ensure that no blacklisting is, or has, taken place on Crossrail, a project that London taxpayers and the GLA, via TfL, are heavily invested in.

Crossrail is currently London’s biggest infrastructure project, costing £15billion, and it is deeply concerning that 28 workers were allegedly removed from this project after safety issues were raised. Given these concerns, the Assembly also calls on the Mayor to disassociate himself from such practices and, in addition, emphasise that every employee must be protected in raising health and safety concerns without fear of reprisals.

You can watch the debate live from approx 11:30am on this link: http://www.london.gov.uk/who-runs-london/the-london-assembly/webcasts

McAlpine's in denial on Blacklist!

McAlpine denies high court claim it had major role in 'blacklist scandal' - from yesterday's  Observer

Ian Kerr died last month shortly after giving evidence to the parliamentary committee. Construction firm Sir Robert McAlpine played a central role in a "conspiracy to blacklist" 3,300 people from working on Britain's major building projects, according to a multimillion-pound high court claim against the firm.

Executives at the company, including Cullum McAlpine, a director and member of its founding family, were allegedly "intimately" involved in the operation of a "clandestine" organisation holding a list of people barred from the industry.

McAlpine was in communication with Ian Kerr, the director of the Consulting Association (TCA), the organisation which held the list on behalf of construction firms, up until it was dissolved, it is alleged.

It is further claimed that Kerr, when he was exposed and prosecuted in 2009, was warned of possible commercial repercussions for Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd if Cullum McAlpine's name emerged in public.
The claims, which are disputed, are contained within legal documents lodged at the high court last Monday by Sir Hugh Tomlinson QC, the barrister acting for 81 alleged victims of the "blacklist" run between 1993 and 2009, who has represented victims of phone hacking by the News of the World.

Workers allege that TCA, funded by around 20 major names in the construction industry, ran a database of names for the industry for more than 30 years. It was seized more than three years ago, but the extraordinary nature of the information held only fully emerged following an employment tribunal against a different construction firm last year for one of the victims, Dave Smith, 46, an engineer who had a 36-page file against his name and was victimised for highlighting safety hazards on sites.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said at Smith's tribunal that it believed some of the information held by the covert organisation and accessible to companies that subscribed to the service "could only have been supplied by the police or the security services". 

The information contained within the TCA database related to the trade union activity of various workers in the construction industry, according to the legal claim. It allegedly included detail on industrial action, political views and affiliation, and membership of unions. 

The legal document alleges: "Some entries were made because workers had made complaints about matters relating to health and safety. The files regularly included recommendations as to whether an individual should be employed. Typical entries were in terms such as 'Do not employ and 'Above not recommended by Amicus'." 

It is further alleged that the database was run secretly, and that measures were taken to keep it clandestine. 

And it is claimed that Sir Robert McAlpine, and in particular Cullum McAlpine, a relative of the former Tory chairman Lord McAlpine, had a central role in the establishment and operation of TCA. It claims: "[Cullum] McAlpine was the founding chairman at the organisation's inception in 1993. He was intimately involved in the foundation and operation of TCA. He formally offered Mr Kerr the position of director in August 1993. He finalised the written particulars of Mr Kerr's employment, sending them to members for approval and obtaining legal advice in relation to them. He oversaw the arrangement of life and health insurance for Mr Kerr as part of his remuneration." 
It further alleges that when the database was exposed and Kerr was prosecuted by the ICO in 2009 he was warned that if McAlpine's name was mentioned, the company "might encounter serious difficulty in obtaining major construction contracts".

Blacklist Late News

1. The High Court battle between blacklisted workers and Sir Robert McAlpine drew a step closer this week as the particulars of claim were presented to the High Court in London.

2. UCATT has sent out letters to hundreds of members whose names appear on the blacklist. GMB has done the same and no doubt UNITE will soon be doing the same with their members as well. This is after the unions won a concession from the Information Commissioner's Office to allow them to check their membership lists against the Consulting Association blacklist database.

3. Hull City Council has voted unanimously to debarr blacklisting firms from any publicly funded contracts in the local authority.

i)  There is also a rumour that Salford MBC is doing the same as Hull MBC. 

ii)  Greater Manchester County Association TUCs discussed the possibility this morning of placing an amendment on blacklisting on the agenda of the North West TUCs Conference.   

Kerr by name and Cur by nature. Police held regular meetings with Blacklister!

The following report which we list below was sent to us by the Blacklist Support Group and is a precis of the evidence given by Ian Kerr, the blacklister of the 'Consulting Association', who gave evidence this week to Scottish Affairs Select Committee:

"One revelation after another today as convicted blacklister Ian Kerr broke his silence today and gave nearly 4 hours worth of evidence to the Scottish Affairs Select Committee investigation into blacklisting.  Among the more jaw dropping evidence:

Kerr has been a full-time blacklister since 1969 - previously employed by the Economic League before he became the Chief Executive of the Consulting Association.

Cullum McAlpine - Director of several companies within the Sir Robert McAlpine group was the first Chairman of the Consulting Association after providing a £10,000 start-up loan following the demise of the Economic League.

Consulting Association meetings took place in the Sir Robert McAlpine London HQ.

Sir Robert McAlpine paid Ian Kerr's £5,000 fine, solicitors fees, and costs associated with closing the organisation including redundancy money for the 4 staff to the order of £25,0000 in order to keep McAlpine's name out of the scandal.

Kerr was paid £50k per year + car + bonus + BUPA + life insurance.

Kerr's wife worked as the organisation's book-keeper.

The main contact for each company was at Director level or similar.

Police held regular meetings with senior members of the blacklisting operation with information flowing both ways.

Union officials provided information about their own members that ended up on the blacklist files. Ian Davidson MP described this as "the union putting the kybosh on someones employment."

Kerr and other blacklist spies were sent undercover into union meetings.

Widespread blacklisting took place on the Olympics construction project by McAlpine, Skanska and Balfour Beatty.

Crossrail - "An awful lot of discussion took place at Consulting Association meetings about the Crossrail Project."

200 Environmental activists were blacklisted (these files were not seized by the ICO).

All documents and computer records have now been burnt or destroyed.
Other blacklisting operations were in existence including Caprim Limited which was set up by the former managing Director of the Economic League.

Kerr refused to answer the question as to whether he was part of the official vetting operation for Irish workers on MoD projects - after a long pause he asked if he could answer that question in private.

Safety Reps were blacklisted if they were too persistent and likely to delay a project.

the Consulting Association breaches at least 2 articles of the European Convention on Human Rights - Pamela Nash MP."

Full video coverage: http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Player.aspx?meetingId=11939

Dave Smith - Blacklist Support Group said:

"Kerr himself is a pathetic figure. But a pathetic figure that got rich and lived the high life by running an illegal blacklist that put thousands of innocent decent hard working people on the dole for years. Kerr's actions took meals from our kids tables. He may feel no remorse but we are angry and we want justice.

It was the matter of fact way that he described the systematic abuse of power by big business that I found most shocking. As if we were just an inconvenience in the way of companies wanting to make big profits.

It has taken years of campaigning to get Ian Kerr to spill the beans in public. I have a message for the supposedly respectable Directors of multi-national construction firms, police officers and corrupt union officials who were all part of this conspiracy - get a good lawyer, cos we're coming after you next.

Blacklist Support Group represents blacklisted workers involved in the High Court claim against Sir Robert McAlpine for "tort of unlawful conspiracy". Guney Clark and Ryan are the representing solicitors with Sir Hugh Tomlinson QC the Lead Counsel."

Exclusive Press Report from Blacklist Support Group

UNION chiefs are calling on Labour leaders to back them in a £600million case against Britain’s big name construction giants.  The GMB has tabled a motion for this weekend’s Labour Party Conference in the row over alleged illegal “blacklisting” of 3,200 builders.

The workers were shunned by construction firms who used a database to check if they were shop stewards or alleged troublemakers. GMB national officer Justin Bowden said: “We’ll not rest until they get an apology and compensation.” ...

It comes amid growing speculation that construction firms will be forced to compensate workers they avoided.  In 2009, the Information Commissioner revealed 44 firms had forked out to access the database to vet applicants. Those paying to use the service included BALFOUR BEATTY, CARILLION, MOWLEM. Lawyers at GUNEY, CLARK & RYAN believe compo could hit £600million.  They have served notice on MCALPINE in a High Court test case on behalf of 86 builders. Guney partner Sean Curran said: “We believe we have a very strong case. Workers’ careers and family lives were devastated by being put on this blacklist.”

Human rights campaigners have threatened to sue the ICO for failing to contact those on the blacklist.

2. Crossrail blacklisting dispute now in its 2nd week.

http://reelnews.co.uk/sparks-flashmob-at-crossrail-site-oxford-st-26-09-12  /
http://industrialreporter.wordpress.com/2012/09/27/exclusive-accident-at-crossrail-after-safety-issues-highlighted /

3. Victimised & blacklisted scottish electrician Stewart Hume has today been fully reinstated by Balfour Beatty Engineering Services Ltd. 
Well done Stewart - great news!  Well done to everyone involved with the campaign for his reinstatement

4. The Financial Times is currently preparing a blacklisting story - keep an eye out.

£600 Million Blacklisting High Court Claim Against Sir Robert McAlpine!

A group of blacklisted workers have launched a High Court claim against Sir Robert McAlpine which could potentially be worth £600million. Guney Clark & Ryan solicitors served a claim on behalf of 86 claimants for "Tort of unlawful conspiracy" at the High Court last week. The claimants are part of the Blacklist Support Group, a network campaigning on behalf of construction workers illegally blacklisted because of their trade union activities by major building contractors as part of the Consulting Association scandal first exposed in 2009.

The claim targets Sir Robert McAlpine as the company with the worst record of blacklisting, the last invoice issued to them by the Consulting Association was in excess of £28,000 for the use of the blacklisting service. However, the conspiracy charge means McAlpine would also be responsible for the actions of the other 40+ contractors such as Carillion, Balfour Beatty, Skanska who systematically blacklisted workers simply for being members of a trade union.

Many of the claimants were repeatedly dismissed from major construction projects and in some cases suffered years of unemployment because of their union activities or for raising concerns about safety on building sites. It is believed that the larger claims are in the region of £300,000 for loss of earnings and hurt to feelings. The minimum award under the new blacklisting regulation introduced in 2010 is £5,000 (but the regulations do not retrospectively cover the Consulting Association victims). The average claim has been estimated at £20,000 per claimant which values the current cases in excess of £17million. As this is the first wave of claimants, out of a possible 3200 blacklisted workers, the total pay-outs the building firms could face exceeds £600million.

The blacklisted workers are being represented in the High Court by Sir Hugh Tomlinson QC: celebrity barrister to the stars in the News of the World phone hacking cases.

Mick Abbott, 74 year old ex-scaffolder said:
'This nearly ruined my marriage and it meant that my children were on free meals at school. My file goes back to 1964 and the last entry says that I rekindled the campaign for justice for the Shrewsbury picketers in 2006. They have been watching me all these years and passing this information around, blighting my life over four decades.'

Steve Kelly, electrician & spokesperson for the Blacklist Support Group said:
'I was blacklisted because I was a union member and because I raised issues about safety.  In 2007, McAlpine sacked me from the Colchester Barracks project after 2 days for refusing to work on a moving platform without proper training (exactly as we had been instructed in the site induction) - the dismissal is recorded on my blacklist file.  Over the year I suffered severe financial strain, my wages were cut in half which caused immense stress paying bills and putting food on table. I was out of work for a year apart from few weeks here and there in 2001. Being sacked from Colchester Barracks after only 2 days piled up the stress and caused a nervous break down for me eventually.  The blacklisting firms should be made to pay compensation for years lost and years in future. They should be made to employ blacklisted workers or not be awarded any public government backed contracts. An apology in national press and to individuals whose lives they ruined would be a start.'

Blacklisting material in The Observer, last Sunday:


Article by Daniel Boffey - The Observer, Political Editor:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/jul/29/victims-consulting-association-mcalpine-building?newsfeed=true

Column by journalist Nick Cohen:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jul/29/nick-cohen-construction-workers-blacklist?newsfeed=true

for background info. on Blacklist Support Group:


Blog: www.hazards.org/blacklistblog

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRB9DjmhBHg

Blacklist Support Group: blacklistsg@gmail.com