Blacklisting win

The union movement has notched up its first successful case against a major construction company engaged in blacklisting.

An employment tribunal found that Phil Willis, a member of the Unite union, had been unlawfully refused employment by CB&I because of his “prominent” activism and awarded him damages of £18,375.

In 2007, Willis applied for work with CB&I on a major engineering project on the Isle of Grain. Although his application was acknowledged, he was not contacted again.

CB&I was a subscriber to The Consulting Association (TCA) which in 2009 was found to be operating a blacklisting service to firms in the construction industry. Willis obtained a copy of his intelligence file held by TCA which contained information about his union activity.