Blacklisting round-up

It's a legal matter baby

In what some described as chaotic scenes, today saw the latest stage in the employment tribunal process for those bringing unfair dismissal claims because of blacklisting.

There are about 80 separate actions and so the tribunal service has lumped them all together. It held a case management discussion in Manchester. The aim was to work out what information was still needed by all parties and agree the next step.

To be fair to the service, it is an unusual situation and it appears that the claimants are being every opportunity to put their cases.

A few cases will be held early next year around the country but it's going to be well into 2010 before we see the bulk of these dealt with and these will all be heard in Manchester. If you run a hotel in the city I'd start putting together a special blacklisting rate.

The meeting was so packed with barristers and solicitors it could have been the Law Society's AGM. Today must have cost the various construction companies tens of thousands in legal fees, and the meter is still running. This is likely to prove a strong incentive for companies not to go the distance. (Indeed one case has, apparently, already been settled out of court). Claimants want to air their greivances but some cases will be ruled out of time. So there is a big question mark over how many will finally see the inside of a court room.

The waiting game

Tribune has a comment piece from Labour MP Dave Anderson on the blacklisting issue which says (among other things):

Any party that has aspires to be progressive should not need to argue about outlawing this type of discrimination and using tough new laws to do so. Ministers should work with the unions and Keith Ewing, author of the UCATT report, to put in place the real protection that many workers desperately need.

I've been checking Hansard daily and pestering Matt at the BIS press office weekly to see when the new regulations outlawing blacklisting are going to get published. Still nothing. I can't imagine they'd be sneaked out, could they?

Pointing the finger

Over at Northern Voices they've picked up on a particular aspect of the blacklisting story which I included in my Saturday piece for the Guardian. Interesting to see how this is taken up.

Comments

[Derek]

I have read your articles in the Guardian re blacklisting. In other reports such as the LRD magazine it has been reported that Ian Kerr is a former Special Branch officer. I note that you have not mentioned this in your articles. Is there any evidence for this?

[PhilC]

I've seen a lot of reports saying Kerr is ex-Special Branch and it has become established through repetition - but I have yet to see any evidence or source for it.
I am happy to be put right on this (and no evidence doesn't make it untrue, just not proven) but at the moment it's conjecture.