CB&I has become the first contractor to face legal action in the wake of last year’s construction trade union blacklist scandal, reports Building.
Ashford employment tribunal ordered CB&I to pay Unite member Phil Willis almost £18,375 in damages for unlawfully refusing him a job after he was blacklisted as a member of the trade union and a prominent activist.
CB&I is one of 14 firms, including Balfour Beatty, Kier and Shepherd, served with enforcement notices following their involvement in the construction blacklist, details of which emerged last March.
The list of over 3,000 construction workers, highlighted as active trade unionists, was discovered when the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) raided The Consulting Association. Subsequently, in April this year, the government announced new legislation outlawing blacklisting.
Commenting on the judgement, Tom Hardacre, Unite’s national officer for construction said: ‘This is the first successful case against a major construction company but it will not be the last …The union is currently providing legal support to a number of workers who believe they have been blacklisted. Too many construction workers have suffered victimisation at the hands of unscrupulous employers.’
