This press release was issued this morning by the Dept for Business, Innovation and Skills
Update: See below for response from UCATT.
Update II: Report by Computer Weekly on this as well as one by the Morning Star and Unite the union has issued a press release. And a Facebook site has been set up to defend blacklisted electrician Steve Acheson.
Update III: Prof Keith Ewing, employment law expert from King's College London who wrote the UCATT report Ruined Lives, called the proposed legislation "disgraceful" and added: "In their present form the regulations are not worth having; they change nothing, give no new rights, and its is a delusion to think otherwise."
BLACKLISTING TO BE OUTLAWED
It will be unlawful for trade union members to be denied employment through blacklists under plans outlined by Employment Relations Minister Lord Young today.
To prevent employers from blacklisting workers for their trade union membership or activities the Government will introduce new rules banning the practice. The move comes as the Government publishes its response to a public consultation on the subject held over the summer, and follows evidence that a number of employers in the construction sector had been unlawfully vetting workers.
Employment Relations Minister Lord Young said:
“Blacklisting someone because they are a member of a trade union is totally unacceptable.
“There is already legal protection against the misuse of people’s personal details. We will now strengthen the law by introducing new regulations to outlaw the compilation, dissemination and use of blacklists.
“The Government is determined to stamp out this despicable practice and our legislative proposals are a proportionate and robust response”.
The regulations will:
- make it unlawful for organisations to refuse employment or sack individuals as a result of appearing on a blacklist;
- make it unlawful for employment agencies to refuse to provide a service on the basis of appearing on a blacklist; and
- enable individuals or unions to pursue compensation or solicit action against those who compile, distribute or use blacklists.
The Government plans to table the regulations for Parliament to consider as soon as possible. They will need to be debated and approved by each House before they can be implemented. Provided Parliament gives its approval, the regulations could be brought into effect early next year.
Notes to Editors
1. Under section 3 of the Employment
Relations Act 1999, the government has the power to introduce regulations
prohibiting the blacklisting of workers for their union membership or
activities.
2. In March the Information Commissioner reported that 40 construction companies had subscribed to a database used to vet construction workers, which has now been closed under data protection law. On 16 July, Mr Ian Kerr, the individual who operated the database, was fined £5,000 at Knutsford Crown Court for committing a criminal offence under data protection law.
3. In response to this new evidence on 11 May 2009, the government announced that it would seek to bring forward legislation to outlaw blacklisting – the statement to Parliament can be found here http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmhansrd/cm090511/wmstext/90511m0001.htm#column_33WS
4. A public consultation on revised draft regulations took place between 7 July and 18 August this year. The Government response to the public consultation can be viewed here: http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file53734.pdf
Update: UCATT's response
Construction union UCATT have welcomed today’s publication (December 2) by the Department of Business of the new regulations designed to outlaw the blacklisting of trade unionists.
Alan Ritchie, General Secretary of UCATT, said: “Blacklisting is a disgraceful, underhand practice. Until early this year most major construction companies were involved in the blacklisting of workers. The introductions of laws, which are designed to prevent blacklisting, are welcome and long overdue. Never again must the lives of workers and their families be ruined because of blacklisting.”
The Government’s publication of the regulations follows a consultation exercise earlier this year. In its response to the consultation UCATT published a document Ruined Lives which argued that the regulations should be strengthened in order to ensure that all forms of blacklisting are eradicated.
Specifically UCATT called for the regulations to be extended to cover all “activities associated with trade unions”, that the discovery of a blacklist should result in it being automatically forfeited, maintaining a blacklist should be a specific criminal offence and being blacklisted should result in an automatic award for basic compensation.
The regulations need to be debated by both Houses of Parliament before becoming law. UCATT will explore with sympathetic backbench Labour MPs if the regulations can be strengthened when they are debated in the House of Commons.
Mr Ritchie, added: “UCATT will be working with members of Parliament in order to ensure that when the blacklisting regulations are finally introduced they are as robust as possible.”
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