Campaign news

Blacklist Support Group latest

8th July 2014

Blacklist Support Group latest

Big developments in the last few days and expected in the next week or so:

Blacklisting protest at the High Court - Thurs 10th July
9am-10am Thursday 10th July
Royal Courts of Justice
The Strand
London
(nearest tube: Holborn or Temple)

This is the same day as the local authorities strike - if you are heading to London to join one of the rallies, feel free to pop by and show some solidarity.
When the court case is finished, there will be a campaign update held in:
Seven Stars pub
53-54 Carey St
London WC2A 2JB (immediately behind the High Court)

NO JUSTICE - NO PEACE

Compensation scheme opens and insults blacklisted workers.
Friday 4th July - the firms opened up their so-called compensation scheme.

Without the support of the trade unions, Blacklist Support Group or any of the legal teams representing us, the blacklisting firms have set up and opened a mis-named compensation scheme. They predict that the vast majority of people will receive £4,000 for their troubles and nothing is put in place to ensure jobs in the future. This is a major human rights scandal that has been exposed in Parliament and even condemned by David Cameron in PMQs but these multinationals and their apologists in the legal and PR professions are trying to present this as justice. In what kind of justice system do the criminals decide what level of compensation the victims should receive?

There may even be some blacklisted workers who are forced to accept their insulting offer because of ill health, old age or financial hardship. It is nothing for the firms to be proud of.

But make no mistake. For those of us whose working lives have been ruined by these wretches, this is about more than money. This is personal. And we intend to hound these human rights abusers until we get justice.

Jack Fawbert, blacklisted carpenter and UCATT elected convener steward on Littlebrooke Power station and the Trocadero was sent an email by the compensation scheme. Below is the email he sent in reply:

Dear Scheme Administrator
This is surely a piss take masquerading as a publicity stunt. £4000 from you criminals for decades of human rights abuses that forced many decent people including myself out of the industry, leading to me suffering years of deprivation to build another career in education, seeing my kids on free school meals and the family nearly splitting up. And for what? For simply representing my fellow workers on a building site as a UCATT shop steward and legally appointed safety rep.

It seems to me that the only reason you are opening this scheme now is to deflect publicity away from the High Court trial next Thursday 10th July (which you conveniently forget to mention in your letter). Celebrities were given a full public inquiry and paid up to £300,000 for someone listening to tittle tattle on their phones and you offer £4000. This PR stunt makes no admission of guilt or gives me an apology for what you did to me and my family or indeed to other building workers and their families. You make no offer to provide blacklisted workers with jobs to demonstrate any contrition on your part for the crimes you have committed. On the contrary, what you now do is get employment agencies to do your grubby, dirty work for you, you wretches.

You should be thoroughly ashamed of yourselves acting in such a reprehensible manner. But you’re not. You even have the brass neck to appoint a judge yourselves to sit in judgement of who deserves what. It beggars belief. For what other crimes do you know of where the criminals decide who is going to sit in judgement of them. And setting a time limit is just another cynical ploy amongst many to try to panic blacklisted workers into accepting your wretched scheme.

And, surprise, surprise, there is no mention in your letter about your negotiations with or the response to your grubby little scheme from my trade union UCATT (the reason I was blacklisted in the first place) or the Blacklist Support Group. You know where you can stick your ‘compensation scheme’.

Jack Fawbert