Call for prison sentences to deter blacklisters

Employers and consultants who blacklist trade unionists should face criminal charges, including imprisonment, legal firm Thompsons Solicitors has said.

Thompsons has written to business secretary Peter Mandelson arguing that the civil law sanctions proposed by the Government in its consultation on the prohibition of blacklisting are “wholly inadequate to deal with such a fundamental attack on human rights and freedoms”.

Richard Arthur, head of trade union law at Thompsons commented: “Blacklisting is different to other forms of discrimination, because it is by definition, planned, covert and systematic.

“The Employment Relations Act 1999, which provides the enabling legislation, envisaged that there would be criminal sanctions for blacklisting trade unionists. It sends the wrong message to potential law breakers to now say that only civil law sanctions such as fines will apply.”

The Government consultation, which closed recently, followed the raid by the Information Commissioners’ Office (ICO) in March 2009 on the premises of the Consulting Association, run by Ian Kerr. ICO officials found a blacklist containing the names of more than 3,000 construction workers. More than 40 major construction companies were subscribers to the list.

Mr Kerr was fined £5,000 at Knutsford Crown Court for breaching the Data Protection Act. Many, such as construction union UCATT, argued the fine was far too low.