by René Lavanchy
COMPANIES which bought into a database of blacklisted trade union members may yet be prosecuted, the Information Commissioner’s Office has confirmed.
Over 40 companies, including construction firms such as Balfour Beatty, Costain and Sir Robert McAlpine, were revealed to have been using the blacklist of 3,200 workers compiled by private detective Ian Kerr after the ICO raided his office in February.
Unions have expressed concern that the database will be destroyed before it can be used to prosecute the firms. But an ICO spokesperson told reporters: “We’re still looking at taking enforcement action, including prosecution. We are investigating and sifting through evidence and have not decided yet what action can be taken.”
The news comes as Business Secretary Lord Mandelson promised this week that the Government would bring in regulations to outlaw the creation and distribution of blacklists, in a move first predicted by Tribune last month. The regulations, which were originally promised by the Fairness at Work Act 1999, were promised in 2003 but never introduced because ministers said there was no evidence that blacklisting was going on.
Lord Mandelson said this week: “Evidence from the Information Commissioner showed there was a problem. There is already legal protection against the misuse of people’s personal details. We now plan to strengthen the law by introducing new regulations to outlaw the compilation, dissemination and use of blacklists in this way.”
Construction union UCATT welcomed the announcement but expressed disappointment that the regulations would be delayed by a fresh round of consultation, although ministers had already consulted on blacklisting in 2003. General secretary Alan Ritchie said: “Blacklisting should have been outlawed 10 years ago. The Government were mistaken in believing it was no longer a problem. Our members were all too aware that blacklisting still occurred. During the last decade thousands of workers have been illegally denied work.” The regulations are due to be introduced to Parliament this autumn.
The union also revealed that Mr Ritchie was himself blacklisted prior to becoming general secretary in 2004. Union members are currently contacting the ICO to find out if they are on the database, but a great many UCATT officials have already been identified. “A lot of our officials have been, a lot of our executive, lay activists; it’s a considerable number”, a spokesperson said.
The ICO will eventually destroy the database, in line with data protection laws. In response to UCATT’s concern about when this is to be done, a spokesperson said this week: “We will only keep the data for as long as is necessary for investigation and to give people the opportunity to make access requests and find out if they were on the database”. There was no fixed time limit for keeping the database, they added.
Mr Kerr, whose business was shut down by the ICO, is due to appear at Macclesfield magistrates court on May 27 to answer charges of breaking the Data Protection Act. Because of the profit he made from the blacklist – companies paid £3,000 a year to access it to vet employees – his case may be referred to crown court, where he would face an unlimited fine.
