GMB, the union for construction workers, today lodged claims in the High Court in London seeking compensation for 70 GMB members blacklisted by Carillion and other construction employers.

Law firm Leigh Day, acting for GMB, is seeking compensation and injunctions for workers kept out of work as a direct result of an unlawful conspiracy by construction employers. The claims include defamation, given the damage to workers’ reputation from being on the blacklist.

This is the first High Court case taken by a trade union against all the players in this conspiracy and there will be further cases added to the 70.

The cases are on behalf of members from Aberdeen, Ayrshire, Barnsley, Barnstaple , Bangor, Betws near Ammanford, Birmingham, Brighton, Cornwall, Cheshire, Croydon, Chorley in Lancashire, Derbyshire, Dorset, Duntocher on Clydebank, Dunfermline, Ellesmere Port, Gourock, Greenock, Glasgow, Grimsby, Gwynedd, Hebden Bridge, Hull, Hartlepool, Hamilton, Inverclyde, Irvine, Knightswood and Possilpark in Glasgow, Kilmarnock, Lincolnshire, London E11, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Mitcham, Newcastle upon Tyne, Nottingham, Oxford, Paisley, Pudsey, Pembroke, Rochdale, Runcorn, Rotherham, Renfrewshire, Redhill in Surrey, South Sheilds, Stockwell, Southampton, Stirlingshire, Sunderland, Salisbury, Stoke on Trent, Strood in Kent, Suffolk, Swansea, Tyne and Wear, and Wigan.

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Blacklisting came to light when in 2009 the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) seized a Consulting Association database of 3,213 construction workers and environmental activists used by 44 companies to vet new recruits and keep out of employment trade union and health and safety activists. Over 60% of those on the blacklist were aged between 30 and 50 in the mid1990s. They were mainly active trade union lay leaders on construction sites. Many of them are now nearing retirement age with no pension arrangements.

From documentary evidence seen by GMB the ICO confirmed that 224 construction workers from around the UK were victims of blacklisting by Carillion. Blacklisting by Carillion was not something isolated or rare. GMB estimates that in one quarter Carillion checked 2,776 names with the Consulting Association and in the period from October 1999 to April 2004 it estimates that Carillion checked at least 14,724 names. This makes it one of the bigger users.

Maria Ludkin, GMB National Officer for Legal and Corporate Affairs, said: "GMB is pleased to be the first union to bring this wide ranging High Court action on behalf of our members.

"Finally construction companies will be called to account for their systematic campaign to wipe out union organization on construction sites. This is only the tip of the iceberg. There are nearly 3,000 other workers with claims. The ICO needs to start acting like a serious regulator and let these victims know so that they can join this claim for damages."

(CD/IT)