TremulousTetra
prismatic universe
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/...g-association-mcalpine-building?newsfeed=true
I'd preferr to see a working class action, but I do sincerely hope they win this.
I'd preferr to see a working class action, but I do sincerely hope they win this.
Workers blacklisted by theconstruction industryover more than three decades have launched a high court claim against industry giant Sir Robert McAlpine, the Tory donor and builder of the Olympic Stadium, for conspiring with other firms to keep them out of work.
The workers allege that the company, which also worked on widening the M1 motorway, was involved in an unlawful conspiracy to amass a database of information against thousands of people, which was used to prevent them earning a living in their trade. The claim involves 86 of 3,400 workers in the files of the Consulting Association, a covert organisation paid by big names in the industry to collect damaging information on workers regarded as leftwing or troublesome. The files included information about trade union membership, relationships, friendships and political views, along with surveillance intelligence.
The value of the initial claim for loss of earnings and damages is estimated to be around £17m, but many more of the victims are expected to add their names to the action in the coming months, raising the potential claim against the construction industry to about £600m, according to one source.
Sir Robert McAlpine, which was paid £50m to help build London's Olympic Stadium, was served nine days ago with legal papers alleging it was one of the "construction companies which had subscribed to the database – which involved inter alia the wrongful gathering, storage and use of information concerning trade union activities and in particular the making of decisions as to whether or not the claimants should be employed".
Sir Hugh Tomlinson, principal QC for alleged victims of the phone-hacking scandal which closed down the News of the World, is representing the workers allegedly robbed of their livelihoods by Sir Robert McAlpine and others.
The Consulting Association, a clandestine organisation funded by major names in the construction industry, was run by Ian Kerr for more than 30 years. Its database was seized nearly three years ago, but the extraordinary nature of the information it held only fully emerged following a recent employment tribunal for one of the victims, Dave Smith, 46, an engineer who had a 36-page file against his name and was repeatedly victimised for highlighting safety hazards on sites, including the presence of asbestos.
The Information Commissioner's Office said at Smith's tribunal that it believed some of the information held by the covert organisation and accessible to companies that subscribed to the service "could only have been supplied by the police or the security services".
The Observer understands that, as part of the legal claim against Sir Robert McAlpine, which donated £100,000 to the Conservative party in 2008-09, the victims' solicitors, Guney, Clark & Ryan, have obtained a court order to visit the Information Commissioner's Office over the next few days and take away unredacted files recovered from the offices of the Consulting Association in 2009.
A source said the information could also form the basis of a civil claimagainst the police for their alleged involvement with the blacklisting. The victims are also compiling a file to accompany a complaint to the Independent Police Complaints Commission about what they claim was collusion with the Consulting Association.
One of the workers involved in the legal action, Mick Abbott, 73, a father of four who lives in Wigan, said the file held on him by the Consulting Association included information on his trade union activities from the 1960s up to 2006, leaving him unable to find a job in the industry since 1985.
"This nearly ruined my marriage and it meant that my children were on free meals at school," he said. "My file goes back to 1964 and the last entry says that I rekindled the campaign for justice for the Shrewsbury picketers in 2006. They have been watching me all these years and passing this information around, blighting my life over four decades. I had to become self-employed and go into work with my sons fitting kitchens."
Smith, whose tribunal formed a key turning point in the victims' campaign, said that his earnings had gone from about £36,000 in 1999 to just £12,000 before tax in 2001 amid an economic boom because he was suddenly blackmarked by the industry for his work as a health and safety officer on sites. He said: "This is about justice. People's lives have been ruined. I had to leave the industry because of this, as did many others."
Sean Curran, of Guney, Clark & Ryan, said: "We have seen evidence that suggests our clients were the subjects of unwarranted blacklisting within the UK construction industry. We can confirm that formal legal proceedings have been issued on behalf of those workers who believe that they suffered as a consequence of their inclusion on the Consulting Association database. It remains our intention to offer all necessary legal support to those who feel that their ability to obtain employment has been affected by what has taken place."
Labour MP John McDonnell, who has been supporting the victims, said the rejection by prime minister David Cameron of his appeal for a public inquiry suggested he was "more interested in protecting employers than getting to the truth for the victims".
A spokesman for Sir Robert McAlpine said: "As legal proceedings have been issued it would be inappropriate for Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd to make any comment at this stage."
