Latest information on the struggle against the blacklist

Dear All - from Construction News 23rd July.
Andy
Warrington Trades Council

Blacklist: firms’ invoices revealed
23 July, 2009 | By Rhiannon Hoyle

Skanska and Sir Robert McAlpine were both invoiced more than £25,000 by blacklist firm during 2008

Skanska and Sir Robert McAlpine were invoiced for by far the largest amounts by a company which ran a blacklist of construction workers, Construction News can reveal.
A list of the organisation’s invoices for last year, published today by Construction News, showed with Skanska having been invoiced £28,122 and Sir Robert McAlpine sent a bill for more than £26,840.
Construction News has established, however, that many of those who were invoiced for the largest amounts are no longer under investigation by the Information Commissioner’s Office, which says it is now only looking into 17 contractors over the “covert” database.
The ICO has refused to disclose which of the 46 firms listed in March after the Consulting Association raid were now being issued with enforcement notices, but it urged commissioner Richard Thomas to use the “strongest powers available” against them.
The figures – for January through to 12 December – are on top of the association’s annual £3,000 subscription fee.
But a Skanska spokeswoman confirmed to Construction News that, despite being the top spender with the association for 2008, it expected no further action against it.
She said: “The commissioner has written to Skanska to inform us that they have decided not to take any enforcement action against us.”
Sir Robert McAlpine has also claimed to be in the clear of any potential proceedings by the ICO.
A spokesman said: “Sir Robert McAlpine shared all the costs with the Information Commissioner who confirmed in a letter that no enforcement action would be taken.”
Other contractors to rack up big bills with the association last year included Balfour Beatty, Laing O’Rourke and Cleveland Bridge.
The invoices show Cleveland Bridge was billed for a total of £5,880, but a spokesman also ruled them out of any legal action.
He said: “Clearly this is a matter for the ICO but our understanding is that subsequent investigations will not concern CBUK.”
Balfour Beatty and its subsidiaries were invoiced for about £9,000 of searches throughout 2008.
A spokeswoman said: “Balfour Beatty does not condone the use of ‘black lists’ in any circumstances and has taken steps to ensure that none of our companies use such services.
“We are of course co-operating fully with the Information Commissioner in his investigation, and in addressing any concerns that he may have.”
Laing O’Rourke was invoiced for £3,710, and its building services arm Crown House Technologies for almost £2,480, for accessing the list in 2008. The group, however, refused to comment on the matter.
With each search of the list costing £2.20, the figures appear to indicate that some companies undertook thousands of searches of the database.
The ICO said that, between April 2006 and February 2009, construction firms had paid the organisation almost £480,000.
It said it had now sent preliminary enforcement notices to the 17 firms still under investigation. It refused to confirm which contractors could face formal action until each firm had time to respond.
Details of the case were aired at Knutsford Crown Court last week, where Consulting Association administrator Ian Kerr was fined £5,000 for his role in controlling the blacklist and, in doing so, breaching the Data Protection Act.
The sentence has sparked anger from lobbyists, with construction union Ucatt having claimed he deserved “the maximum fine possible”.
Ucatt general secretary Alan Ritchie said: “He ruined people’s lives.”
Ucatt members held a demonstration outside the court last Thursday.
George Guy, regional secretary for the North West region, whose members staged the protest outside the court, said: “A large number of Ucatt’s activists in the North West were blacklisted by Ian Kerr – they want justice.
“Everyone involved in the blacklisting must be brought to book.”
Knowledge of the database – which included the details of 3,213 workers – emerged in March when the offices of the Consulting Association, in Droitwich, West Midlands, were raided by the ICO. It is understood the list may have been running for more than 15 years.
The database was believed to have been used by firms to avoid employing troublesome workers, including many union members and others who had raised health and safety concerns. Names were accompanied by notes such as “poor timekeeper, will cause trouble” and “Irish ex-army bad egg”.
The Government is now working on laws to ban the use of blacklists which prevent trade unionists from getting work.

(For the full list see Construction News 23 July)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Blacklist Support Group <blacklistsg@googlemail.com>
Date: Thu, Jul 30, 2009 at 3:34 PM
Subject: Sandy based Construction firm in court over Blacklisting of
Building workers

Sandy based construction company Kier Limited have been accused of
victimisation, discrimination and breach of human rights because of
their systematic practice of blacklisting building workers who
complained about health and safety or non-payment of wages. The
damning evidence was exposed following the Information Commissioners
raid on the offices of the Consulting Association in June. The
Consulting Association was operating a covert blacklisting database on
behalf of 44 major contractors in the construction industry. Last
week, Ian Kerr, the owner of the Consulting Association was found
guilty to breaches of the Data Protection Act.

The Information Commissioner has identified Kier Limited as having
paid a £3000 annual subscription fee to use the services of the
Consulting Association and paid additional charges to check the names
& details of individual workers either applying for employment or
already working on their projects. The major contractors held
quarterly meetings at the offices of the Consulting Association
chaired by senior industry executives to collate data which was then
shared amongst all of the companies in order to exclude union members
from working on building sites.

Blacklisted building workers are now able to get copies of their own
blacklist files from the Information Commissioner. The damning
documents are being used as vital evidence in Employment Tribunal
cases now taking place across the country. Kier Limited, with national
offices based in Tempsford Hall, Sandy has been specifically
identified and cases against the company have already been accepted by
Bedford Employment Tribunal. With over 3000 workers names being placed
on the blacklist, many more cases are likely to follow.

Many of the ET claims are being supported by the trade unions UNITE
and UCATT, whilst some workers who were driven out of the industry
altogether are being backed by the newly formed Blacklist Support
Group (an informal network to assist those workers victimised by the
blacklisting).
http://www.building.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=284&storycode=3145591&c=3

Dave Smith, a claimant against Kier Limited said:
"I was a qualified Engineer, my only crime was to raise genuine
concerns about asbestos and the appalling state of the toilet
facilities on some building sites. Kier Limited illegally and covertly
provided information about me which was used to compile a blacklist
file against me. This was used to stop me gaining work and eventually
led to me being unemployed. The company cannot deny it, the
Information Commissioner and the courts have all the paperwork and
invoices which are now in the public domain "

My file is damning evidence against Kier Limited but the court case is
not about being a victim. Its about justice for decent building
workers who made honest complaints about safety, its about major
companies not being above the law, its about human rights."

Additional info: Lord Mandelson has written a damning indictment of
the companies involved in blacklisting and how the process worked in
the consultation document to introduce new regualtions on blacklisting

for individual interviews with Blacklisted building workers contact
blacklistSG@googlemail.com
Blacklist Support Group

-------------------------------------------------------------

Information Commissioners Office - Press Release - Date: 04 August 2009

Trade in personal data jeopardised employment prospects

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has served Enforcement Notices on 14 construction firms following breaches of the Data Protection Act. Some organisations paid thousands of pounds to unfairly obtain personal information about construction workers.

David Smith, Deputy Information Commissioner, said: “Fourteen firms paid for personal details about construction workers without those people knowing. The individuals were denied the opportunity of explaining or correcting what may have been inaccurate personal information about them and which could have jeopardised their employment prospects in the construction industry. We have used the maximum powers available to us and this enforcement action sends a strong signal that organisations must take the Data Protection Act seriously. Should the firms fail to adhere to the terms of the Notices they could face prosecution.”

The firms are: Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering Limited; Balfour Beatty Construction Northern Limited; Balfour Beatty Construction Scottish & Southern Limited; Balfour Beatty Engineering Services (HY) Limited; Balfour Beatty Engineering Services Limited; Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Services limited; CB&I UK Limited; Emcor Engineering Services Limited; Emcor Rail Limited; Kier Limited; NG Bailey Limited; Shepherd Engineering Services Limited; SIAS Building Services Limited; Whessoe Oil & Gas Limited.

The enforcement action prevents the companies from using the personal data supplied to them by Ian Kerr, formerly of The Consulting Association (TCA). The firms will also need to ensure that if they obtain personal information about job applicants from third parties in the future they are completely open with those

applicants about the process. It is a breach of the Data Protection Act to use personal data covertly to vet workers for employment.

An ICO investigation found that Ian Kerr of Droitwich, on behalf of the TCA, held details on 3,213 construction workers and traded their personal details for profit. At Kerr’s business premises the ICO seized copies of invoices to construction companies for services, including employment checks on individuals. On 16 July 2009 Ian Kerr was fined £5,000 for breaching the Data Protection Act and ordered to pay £1,187.20 costs.

The Enforcement Notices can be viewed here: http://www.ico.gov.uk/what_we_cover/data_protection/enforcement.aspx

ENDS

If you need more information, please contact the ICO press office on 020 7025 7580 or visit the website at: www.ico.gov.uk

Notes to Editors

1. It is not a criminal offence to breach the data protection Principles, which is why the ICO chose only to prosecute Ian Kerr for failing to notify as a data controller. No such option is available to the ICO regarding the construction firms. The ICO has pressed strongly for monetary penalties where the Data Protection Act has been knowingly or recklessly breached. The type of conduct engaged in by Kerr and some construction firms is likely to incur a fine in future

2. Since the ICO’s investigation, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is seeking views on draft Regulations that will outlaw the blacklisting of trade unionists

3. The ICO can serve enforcement notices where there has been a breach of the Act, requiring organisations to take (or refrain from taking) specified steps in order to ensure they comply with the law. The ICO can prosecute those who commit criminal offences under the Act; failure to comply with an Enforcement Notice is a criminal offence. Appeals against enforcement notices are heard by the Information Tribunal, an independent body set up specifically to hear cases concerning enforcement notices or information notices issued by the Information Commissioner.

4. The Information Commissioner’s Office promotes public access to official information and protects personal information. The ICO is the UK’s independent influential and practical authority on information rights and responsibilities, making a difference to people

5. The ICO has specific responsibilities set out in the Data Protection Act 1998, the Freedom of Information Act 2000, Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003

6. Organisations can now sign the Personal Information Promise to demonstrate their commitment to protecting people’s personal information by visiting the website at www.ico.gov.uk

7. For more information about the Information Commissioner’s Office subscribe to our e-newsletter at www.ico.gov.uk

8. Anyone who processes personal information must comply with eight principles, which make sure that personal information is:

• Fairly and lawfully processed

• Processed for limited purposes

• Adequate, relevant and not excessive

• Accurate and up to date

• Not kept for longer than is necessary

• Processed in line with your rights

• Secure

• Not transferred to other countries without adequate protection