The fight against the building blacklist

Construction workers in the greater Manchester area have launched a campaign against blacklisting in the industry.

There was a protest of 20 construction workers at the gates of "the rock triangle" development site in Bury, Lancashire, in August. The Rock is a massive project employing hundreds of people. Yet, there is no effective trade union representation on site.

The main contractor is Laing O'Rourke who appointed N.G Bailey to do the electrical work. Both companies were subscribers to the anti trade union blacklist operated by private detective Ian Kerr on behalf of many UK construction companies. (See previous coverage in The Socialist.)

The blacklisting scandal has been exposed. But the Bury council chief executive failed to respond to demands by the local Unite branch for a guarantee that there would be no blacklisting on the rock.

Steve Acheson, himself a blacklisted electrician for ten years, told The Socialist: "Blacklisting puts enormous psychological pressure on the victimised workers and their families. Not only are you being put out of work, but you are deliberately not given any work. This can bring entire families to breaking point.

"Unite should use its resources to build trade union organisation on sites and give support to all victimised trade unionists. This way, confidence can be built amongst workers to fight back against the bosses' offensive."