The UCATT union is planning anti-blacklisting demonstrations this Wednesday (20 November) at the HQs of at least 10 contractors that were historically involved in blacklisting, as part of a TUC day of action on blacklisting.
The union says that it will reveal the locations of the planned demonstrations, likely to be one in each region of the country, a day in advance.
Meanwhile, High Court actions against several contractors are being progressed by the GMB union and the Blacklist Support Group. The GMB’s solicitor Leigh Day is bringing claims on behalf of around 70 individuals, while solicitor Guney Clark & Ryan is acting on behalf of about 86 construction workers under the BSG banner.
A hearing is scheduled for 29 November, when a judge will decide whether to grant a group litigation order that would consolidate all present and future claims into one High Court action.
The two groups are progressing the legal claims while also entering into early negotiations with the Construction Workers Compensations Scheme.
The eight contractors that set up the scheme are represented by former ACAS chief executive John Taylor, who initiated talks with a letter sent to the four unions on Friday 1 November.
It suggested compensation levels ranging from £1,000 to £100,000, with a key condition that beneficiaries of the scheme would waive their rights to pursue legal claims for compensation.
UCATT issued an angry rejection of the proposals, while the Blacklist Support Group told the press that it had “stormed out of” an exploratory meeting it held with Taylor on the evening of Monday 4 November. However, other sources said that the meeting, at the office of law firm Pinsent Masons, had ended in a perfectly normal fashion.
The Scheme also issued its own statement last week, saying: “The levels of awards through the scheme are part of our on-going discussions with UCATT, other workers’ representatives and stakeholders. However, we anticipate awards in the range of £1,000 for those whose names were on the TCA records but suffered no loss, potentially rising to as high as £100,000 for the most serious cases.
“While we will be writing to everyone on the TCA records for whom there are contact details, we will also launch a full publicity programme through the media and stakeholders when the scheme is ready to open to applicants to ensure that we reach as many people as possible.”
It is understood that the four groups involved – UCATT, Unite, the GMB and the Blacklist Support Group – subsequently sent a joint letter to Taylor, saying that the proposals could form a starting point for negotiations if the Scheme is genuinely committed to a negotiated settlement, and if various conditions are met.
For the GMB, a key condition is that Scheme and the unions should work together to identify and contact around 2,700 individuals whose names are held on the TCA’s files but who have not yet come forward.
