Blacklisting Hasn’t Gone Away | Despite what bosses and politicians say, the blacklist is still a living reality for many trade unionists
Blacklisting Hasn’t Gone Away | Despite what bosses and politicians say, the blacklist is still a living reality for many trade unionists
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Statements in the ongoing [spycops hearings (PDF)](https://www.ucpi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/20220425-T1P3-LG_RC_M-Opening-Statement.pdf) show 1970s police passing information to the notorious [Economic League](https://archive.ph/XHuC0) which provided a blacklisting service for construction and engineering companies, aimed at preventing trade union activists from obtaining employment.
This practice continued after the demise of the Economic League via its successor organisation [The Consulting Association](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/mar/03/blacklisted-building-workers-court-hopes).
TCA’s offices were raided in 2009, showing over 40 companies had kept detailed information on thousands of workers: “employment histories, political views, health, and even personal relationships”.
Victim [Dave Smith](https://www.ier.org.uk/opening-statement/dave-smith-blacklisting-support-group-opening-statement-17-11-20/) is quoted in the posted article:
> ‘When I first started working on a building site and joined the union, everyone talked about blacklisting. As soon as you became a rep,’ he tells Tribune, ‘it was likely you’d be victimised, and people who’d been around a long time had trouble getting work . . .
> ‘When we used to say it to people, people used to think we were conspiracy theorists. But in reality, it was a conspiracy. All of the big multinationals were keeping tabs on us. Even for companies like Skanska — a big Swedish multinational which was apparently very union friendly — the blacklisting process was part of their standard recruitment process. The Consulting Association was even an agenda item on HR meetings for Skanska — it was embedded into what they did.’
> ‘For decades, many people outside of the labour movement did not entertain the notion that such a practice existed.
Smith doesn’t believe the practice hsa stopped:
> ‘They’ve just changed how they’ve done it. You’ve got a dozen agencies that supply the labour for the twenty biggest construction companies in the country. If you’re blacklisted by one of those agencies, and their client base are those companies, they can take a massive chunk of opportunity from individuals.’
Royal Mail keep a blacklist based on NI number.