Blacklisted workers storm out of compensation talks

Blacklisted workers have walked out on the first round of talks with the blacklist compensation scheme.

The delegation - represented by the Blacklist Support Group leaders Dave Smith, Steve Kelly and Roy Bentham - expressed their disgust at what they described as “piss-take” proposals.

They were meeting with scheme representatives including John Taylor, the ex-chief executive of ACAS, and Richard Slaven a partner at Pinsent Mason solicitors at Pinsent Mason’s head office in London.

Roy Bentham, blacklisted joiner from Liverpool and Ucatt member said: “These are not proposals designed for genuine negotiations. It is a piss-take masquerading as a publicity stunt.

“We were not prepared to continue with the charade.”

In a statement the Blacklist Support Group added: “If the firms have really turned over a new leaf, they can prove it by offering jobs to blacklisted workers on Crossrail and other major construction projects.

“Blacklisting breached our human rights, forced us into years of unemployment and made our families suffer financially.

“Why is a celebrity whose phone has been hacked, worth so much more than the human rights of a building worker?

“If there was any justice in the world, the directors implicated should be on their knees begging our forgiveness.We will settle for offers of employment, full compensation and a public inquiry into this squalid conspiracy.

“These blacklisting wretches have the brass neck to offer us a thousand pounds in compensation. They can shove their grand, right up their profit margin”.