Blacklist lobby group seeks action against major firms

Workers who believe they were blacklisted by major contractors have formed a lobby group to help expose blacklisting in the construction industry.

The Blacklist Support Group is made up of workers whose details were kept by Ian Kerr, a consultant who provided details on union membership and other activities to as many as 17 major contractors.

The group, made up of various trade union members and workers, met for the first time earlier this week with John McDonnell MP to share information on companies that had refused to employ workers on Kerr’s list.

Kerr was fined £5,000 last week for breaching the Data Protection Act. The consultant acted on behalf of his firm the Consulting Association to sell information on 3,213 construction workers to interested parties.

The Blacklist Support Group is now to investigate launching class action civil lawsuits against major contractors found to have used Kerr’s information to blacklist workers. It is also examining possible violations of the Human Rights Act.

The group will also lobby for legislation to outlaw blacklisting, and provide support and advice for workers who think they have been blacklisted.

The Information Commissioner’s Office, which has been investigating the Consulting Association case, recently said it would expose 17 construction firms that paid Kerr a total of almost £500,000 for personal data on workers.