One of the most abiding memories for many workers in the 1970s and 1980s was the blacklisting of trade unionists, primarily based on the activities of the so-called Economic League, a shadowy organisation.
Many workers were barred from jobs because of their legitimate trade union activity, often based on wildly inaccurate and unreliable information.
Most of us believed and hoped that these bad old days were behind us, but that myth was sadly destroyed at a recent meeting in the Commons.
Alan Ritchie, the general secretary of the construction union UCATT, launched a detailed report on current blacklisting practices, which is packed with moving case studies of people who have been victimised for no good reason.
The union's report was inspired by an investigation carried out by the information commissioner. That official inquiry exposed the Consulting Association, run by Ian Kerr, which had been operating a blacklist of over 3,000 construction workers for decades. A staggering 44 major construction companies were revealed to have been using the company's services.
Household names in the building industry which makes hundreds of millions, often from public sector contracts, were shown to be denying construction workers a living.
The investigation outlined how blacklisting in the building industry had become endemic and that the Consulting Association and various big businesses had callously and systematically ruined the lives of thousands of skilled construction workers, many of whom were forced out of the industry because of blacklisting.
Following the exposure of the blacklist, construction workers have been given the opportunity to contact the information commissioner to discover if they have been blacklisted and see their file. Many UCATT members, activists and officials were blacklisted.
Disgracefully, blacklisting is not illegal and prosecution is possible only under data protection laws. The 1999 Employment Relations Act had created provisions for outlawing blacklisting, but the necessary regulations were never introduced because the Government wrongly believed that it no longer took place.
The work of the building union and the information commissioner have blown that naiveté away. Following lobbying from UCATT and MPs, the Government has now acted, promising new regulations soon.
The Government is currently suggesting that blacklisting should only be outlawed for trade union activities, but it is clear from the files that it was carried out on many pretexts and not just by a narrow definition of trade union activities. I believe that all forms of blacklisting should be outlawed.
In the case of the Consulting Association, much of the information on workers' files was about health and safety issues: workers demonstrating about dangerous sites or whistle blowing about unsafe practices.
It's significant that these bosses won't put their heads above the parapet and defend these nasty and secretive practices, which almost certainly breach human rights conventions.
It is disgraceful that construction companies were prepared to blacklist workers for trying to protect themselves and their colleagues and the new regulations must ensure that this is never repeated. I'm concerned that the regulations aren't tough enough and argue that my government needs to engage with unions and workers at the sharp end.
The trade unions, in which I am proud to have played active roles as a miner and as a care worker, do a vital job as a vast voluntary movement to improve health and safety. Unions and employers should work together.
The construction industry suffers more deaths and serious accidents than other sectors but has the fewest health and safety representatives and committees. I strongly suggest that these facts are connected.
Workers fear losing their jobs if they raise concerns about risks, but face losing their lives if they don't.
Newcastle Chronicle and Journal
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