Union general secretary says Consulting Association's practice was “truly shocking”

Construction union Ucatt has called on the government to immediately pass legislation outlawing the blacklisting of workers.

The call follows the raid, revealed by Building yesterday, on a firm accused of selling information on 3,213 “troublesome” workers to 40 construction companies.

Alan Ritchie, general secretary of Ucatt, said: “We will be writing to the government immediately demanding that they bring forward the existing regulations and introduce them into law immediately. It is the only way to protect the rights of trade union members”.

He said the list revealed by the raid by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) was “truly shocking.” He said: “It is outrageous that construction workers have been barred from jobs simply for being trade unionists.”

The ICO raided the offices of the Consulting Association, and said it was likely that it had been running the database for more than 15 years. It said it was looking to prosecute the firm's director, Ian Kerr, and investigate the possibility of regulatory action against the construction firms who have been using the list.

A Ucatt statement says Kerr was formerly employed by the Economic League, a company it says was involved in blacklisting in the seventies and eighties.

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