Disgrace as worker loses blacklisting case

Agency workers have no legal protection against blacklisting by multinational firms, construction worker and trade unionist Dave Smith claimed after losing his employment tribunal.

The engineer failed to win damages against Carillion plc because he was classed as a “worker” rather than a direct “employee” due to his agency worker status.

Despite the verdict, the industrial court confirmed that Smith had been blacklisted by John Mowlem — a company acquired by Carillion several years ago.

Smith's barrister David Renton had argued that the blacklist breached the Human Rights Act and therefore the law should be interpreted in such a way as to protect all workers including agency workers.

Smith now believes that British employment law has failed to protect him and the millions of other agency workers by allowing the multinational construction firm to win on a technicality. He said he would be taking the case to Europe.

“The blacklisting conspiracy is a deliberate breach of human rights by big business. Human rights are supposed to apply to everyone but Carillion and their subsidiaries have got away with systematic abuse of power simply because I was an agency worker,” he said.

The plan is to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights.

www.morningstaronline.co.uk/news/content/view/full/114489