Legal victory in war against blacklisting

Unite has hailed a landmark legal victory today by a member in the fight against blacklisting.

An employment tribunal sitting last week at Ashford, Kent, found that major construction contractor CB&I was guilty of blacklisting Phil Willis due to his union activism.

The case is directly linked to the seizure in 2009 by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) of a blacklist run by the Consulting Association.

The list was subscribed to by over 40 construction firms and details of over 3,000 workers were held on the database, which the firms used to weed out union activists.

Mr Willis submitted an application to CB&I for work as a steel erector on the Isle of Grain project in 2007. Although his application was acknowledged, he was not contacted again.

Following the raid by the ICO Mr Willis obtained a copy of his blacklist file which contained information about his trade union activity. He brought his case under section 137 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

Speaking after the verdict Mr Willis said: "We are beside ourselves with delight.

"The judgement was absolutely damning against CB&I, so much so that it reduced us to tears. It was such a great victory for us and for all those who will eventually follow in our footsteps."

Unite assistant general secretary Les Bayliss said: "This is a significant milestone but we believe the law should go further.

"Unite will be campaigning to strengthen the law on blacklisting to ensure employers do not even contemplate blacklisting trade union members."

Unite's national officer for construction Tom Hardacre said: "It is the first successful case against a major construction company but it will not be the last. The union is currently providing legal support to a number of workers who believe they have been blacklisted.

"Too many construction workers have suffered victimisation at the hands of unscrupulous employers. Unite intends to use the full force of the law to hold firms to account for systematically ruining people's livelihoods just because a few brave men were prepared to stand up for the rights of their fellow work colleagues."