Blacklisting: a real and present danger
Blacklisting was a curse and it remains a curse. It has ruined the lives of thousands of workers, and had massive consequences for their families. It should be unimaginable that working lives could be ruined just because a construction worker joined a union, or had the temerity to raise a health and safety issue at work. For years major construction companies promised that blacklisting was a myth, but it was true, and a brutal fact of life for activists in the construction industry.
The sinister practice is not a thing of the past; it is very much a real and present danger. We need a full inquiry into its scope. The TUC demands that the inquiry must have the legal power to call witnesses, seize records and put employers on the spot. Companies guilty of blacklisting should be barred from public contracts until they can demonstrate that they understand the basics of human rights and good industrial relations.
And victims of blacklisting need justice, and proper compensation.
SERTUC joined the anti-blacklisting rally today outside the Houses of Parliament. SERTUC President, Martin Gould, pictured left, holding a SERTUC flag, was once a heating and ventilation engineer on major construction contracts, and a leading trade union activist in the construction industry. He suffered decades of victimisation by building contractors and has many colourful stories to tell.
Workers who think that they might have been blacklisted should contact their union.
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