BLACKLISTING EXPOSED IN THE UK

This excellent video has been put together by the Blacklisting Support Group. It shows how over forty scumbag construction companies were exposed as serial blacklisters when the offices of the 'Consulting Association' were raided by staff from the Information Commissioners Office who enforce the Data Protection Act. Despite changes to legislation and government intervention, the video shows how companies continue to blacklist workers with impunity. Well worth watching.

THE PUBLIC SECTOR: PERSISTENTLY PROTESTING

IT was a very English demo. Yesterday, in Manchester, saw what Dave Chapple, President of the National Shop Stewards Network, described as the 'first national demonstration against the Coalition Government's cuts' and their slogan was that the 'TUC Must Call a Demo'. Well that should scare the Coalition! But were they merely pushing at an open door all the time? Today, the TUC has declared that it is planning a 'campaign' against the cuts.

Last night, SKY TV and other media captured the occasion on the evening news: 500 flag waving demonstrators outside the convention centre at Manchester's G-Mex. Bob Crow, General Secretary of the RMT, calling for co-ordinated strikes and civil disobedience and right winger, Les Bayliss of Unite the Union, saying this will be suicide.

All the usual suspects were on parade - the Socialist Party with their 'New Workers' Party'; the SWP with its Right to Work campaign; the refashioned communists; Trade Union and Trades Council banners from up and down the country; even a handful of folk from the Manchester Solidarity Federation. Young syndicalists like Becca (UNISON) from Birmingham addressed the crowd and the old anarcho-syndicalist former miner Dave Douglass (NUM) from Northumbria told us that great industries like coal mining did not die 'they were slaughtered' by Thatcher and Major.

This is a movement – the National Shop Stewards Network – that is backed by public sector unions such as RMT; PCS; CWU; the National NUM and the POA. So yesterday's demo was about preserving jobs in the public sector and not about a new world order. Calling on the TUC to call a national demonstration against the public sector cuts must be one of the most timid demands imaginable and this conservativism of the British left is typical. Bob Crow sounds militant and even harks back to the poll tax riots but expectations of radical social change seem very remote at the moment.

Terrorism Act injunction thrown out of Court!

We're happy to report that the Terrorism Act injunction brought against Blacklisted worker and Trades Unionist Steve Acheson has been thrown out of the High Court today.

The Judge dismissed the application by Scottish & Southern Energy, branding their application "fantasy bordering on the edge of paranoia", and added "This court exists to grant injunctions in urgent cases. It does not exist to grant injunctions which might be thought to be convenient to applicants". Acheson was also awarded costs.

Scottish and Southern Energy have now stated their intention to apply to the local County Court, but this would seem foolhardy as a higher court has already rejected this application - a high risk strategy has not paid off so far.

Further reading:
Article on BBC website
Article on Manchester Evening News website

Protest against blacklisting on Laing O'Rourke 'The Rock' Project in Bury

Over 20 members of Unite the Union and their supporters came to demonstrate and unfurl banners in their protest against the blacklist in the construction trade at the The Rock in Bury on Thursday 27th August 2009. The Rock project is one of the biggest building jobs in the UK, if not in Europe and Laing O'Rourke is the main contractor on the site. Laing O'Rourke has also been unmasked as an affiliate of The Consulting Association run by Ian Kerr. Last month, Mr Kerr admitted in Knutsford Crown Court to managing an illegal database or blacklist with the names of over 2,000 building workers on it. For this he was fined £5,000 + costs.

The demo was widely covered by the regional media and last night, BBC's North West Tonight ran a feature on the issue (see the video embedded i this post). Radio Manchester and the Bury Times is also giving coverage, not to mention the Morning Star. Workers on the site took leaflets and applauded impromptu speeches from the protesters. One worker reading a protest leaflet was warned by a gaffer that if he didn't get back to work he'd end up on the blacklist. Black humour, no doubt, but it sheds light on the degree of nervousness now prevailing on the nation's building sites owing to the recent exposure of the blacklist.

Yesterday, both Laing O'Rourke's spokesmen and the subcontractor NG Bailey (another affiliate of the Kerr: Consulting Association) denied discriminating against workers on grounds of their trade union and political membership.

After 4 hours of picketing the site some of the protesters moved to Bury Town Hall where they requested to speak with Mark Sanders, Chief Executive of Bury MBC. Mr Sanders it was claimed was 'in a meeting' and not available for comment. Later the Council issued a statement saying that 'to their knowledge none of the contractors on the Bury developments were blacklisting people'.