Blacklisting dispute averted on Crossrail

forwarded to NV by Joe Bailey

THE threat of industrial action on Crossrail was averted after Unite members secured the reinstatement of an electrician suspected of having faced fresh blacklisting. 

Workers had raised fears over the dismissal in late February 2019 of Martin Overy, a former Unite safety representative, who was sacked almost immediately after getting a job at London’s Paddington station (Risks 887).  Mr Overy, whose name was included on the Consulting Association’s blacklist, was sacked five hours after signing a contract with Site Operative Solutions Limited.  In 2016 he received compensation for having been blacklisted, but has struggled to find work since. The union-backed Blacklist Support Group was concerned that Skanska, the company that controls Paddington, may have sought to get rid of him.  However, following a March meeting with Unite official Guy Langston, Mr Overy was reinstated.  In 2016, Skanska was compelled to formally apologise for its role in blacklisting workers. 

Blacklist Support Group joint secretary and Unite executive council member Roy Bentham said:  'This demonstrates that this union can defend its blacklisted members.  In an industry with such an appalling fatality record, workers who are prepared to raise concerns about safety should be valued.  But instead, the treatment of Martin Overy seems a blatant case of blacklisting.'

He added:  'The willingness of the rank and file to take action was never in question, and was central to Martin’s reinstatement.'

************