Blacklisted worker takes firm to court

Construction worker and union activist Dave Smith was forced to leave the construction trade in 2001 because he could no longer find work.

Despite being a skilled engineer for over 10 years Mr Smith struggled to find continuous work and claims at one point his family struggled to make ends meet.

"I was a qualified engineer and during one of the longest building booms this country has ever known, my children were on milk-tokens," he said in a witness statement.

Mr Smith, who has continuously raised concerns about the use of asbestos, was never directly employed by Carillion.

However he is claiming damages against the company to cover career loss of earnings, which he claims are in excess of £175,000.

Details of Mr Smith's blacklist file were also released.

The 36-page document was kept by the Consulting Association which provided construction companies with personal and political details of thousands of union activists.

The John Mowlem group and Schal International Management - both later acquired by Carillion - used the association to exchange coded information.

In files seen by the Morning Star there is a wealth of information relating to Mr Smith's trade union activities and smears against his character.

One entry from July 1998 reads: "SMITH Dave - Described as small and talking like Alf Garnett. While at 3280 (Mowlem) gained access to sensitive safety documents and copied these to (construction union) UCATT... Was taken by 3280 via staff agency. Is well-in with UCATT executive council. At June Biennial Conference gave short talk: 'Now is time to get wages up.'"

Although the records obtained by the information commissioner in February 2009 show that John Mowlem used the services of the Consulting Association to blacklist workers, Carillion had "no knowledge" of the activities of Mowlem when it acquired the company in 2006.

The tribunal continues.

johnm@peoples-press.com