An Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) report
has confirmed that police provided information to firms for a blacklist of
construction workers.
Eight of the major construction firms implicated in the blacklist are discussing establishing a compensation fund in negotiation with some of the trade unions in the industry, apparently as a means of avoiding any admission of liability and deflecting an intensifying legal challenge.
An attempt is being made by the unions to reinvigorate their tattered credentials by citing the issue of possible compensation as their victory. In reality, the evidence points to the fact that the unions collaborated in the blacklist and sought to block legal challenges to the companies.
The existence of a blacklist of construction workers for their politics or militancy was long suspected. Concrete evidence came to light in 2009, when a raid by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) revealed a 30-year database of information on workers held by The Consulting Association (TCA). Most were union members. Some had been reported simply for raising health and safety concerns on site. TCA was run by a former Special Branch officer and funded by the major construction companies. (See “Britain: Militant construction workers blacklisted and denied employment”)
Last year the ICO announced that reports found in the TCA database could only have come from police or security service sources. The reports concerned around 3,400 construction workers. This information was only finally released for an employment tribunal for Dave Smith, one of the blacklisted workers and a spokesman for the Blacklist Support Group.
WSWS
Eight of the major construction firms implicated in the blacklist are discussing establishing a compensation fund in negotiation with some of the trade unions in the industry, apparently as a means of avoiding any admission of liability and deflecting an intensifying legal challenge.
An attempt is being made by the unions to reinvigorate their tattered credentials by citing the issue of possible compensation as their victory. In reality, the evidence points to the fact that the unions collaborated in the blacklist and sought to block legal challenges to the companies.
The existence of a blacklist of construction workers for their politics or militancy was long suspected. Concrete evidence came to light in 2009, when a raid by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) revealed a 30-year database of information on workers held by The Consulting Association (TCA). Most were union members. Some had been reported simply for raising health and safety concerns on site. TCA was run by a former Special Branch officer and funded by the major construction companies. (See “Britain: Militant construction workers blacklisted and denied employment”)
Last year the ICO announced that reports found in the TCA database could only have come from police or security service sources. The reports concerned around 3,400 construction workers. This information was only finally released for an employment tribunal for Dave Smith, one of the blacklisted workers and a spokesman for the Blacklist Support Group.
WSWS
