Union rejects blacklist firms’ 'derisory' offer

Blacklisted workers have rejected a “derisory” compensation offer from panicked building bosses trying to keep a lid on the burgeoning scandal as it goes through the courts.

When a judge announced last month that there would be a 10-week trial next year with £2.8 million at stake, solicitors acting for major construction firms offered 11 workers a total of £415,000 in compensation, with individual offers ranging from £10,000 to £60,000.

However, law firm Leigh Day said that litigants could receive substantially higher sums, especially given that celebrities who sued the Daily Mirror newspaper over hacked phones were awarded damages on the basis of how many times their privacy was breached.

Maria Ludkin, national legal officer at the GMB general union, said the offers were derisory. “The industry is definitely worried about going to trial,” she said. “The total value of our claim is £30 million and we are fighting for every penny.”

Leigh Day has valued the 11 cases at £2.8 million — part of £30 million being demanded in almost 100 cases the GMB is bringing to court.

An official compensation scheme offering workers paltry sums has seen a low take-up, according to the GMB.

www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-c080-GMB-Conference-Union-rejects-blacklisters-panicked-offer