Hundreds of workers who were blacklisted by large firms in an illegal conspiracy have won compensation following a long-running lawsuit.
Approximately 420 trade unionists have secured damages from major construction firms after launching legal action four years ago.
On Friday, they announced that they had reached out-of-court settlements with the firms. However, another group of approximately 90 workers have yet to settle and are scheduled to have their case heard in the high court on 9 May.
It brings to more than 600 the number of workers who have received compensation from the illegal scheme, which was investigated and closed down by the authorities following an article in the Guardian in 2008.
The amount of compensation has not been disclosed but, according to campaigners, could reach £50m. It has been previously disclosed that some blacklisted workers have been awarded damages ranging from £25,000 to £200,000.
Steve Acheson, the chair of the Blacklist Support Group, which represents the workers, said: “What has already been achieved is a massive victory for the trade union movement, but the fight is not over yet.
“Until such time that the the full conspiracy is exposed and those responsible for the human rights abuse are called to account in a court of law, we will never stop fighting.”
The legal action was launched after it was revealed that the firms were funding a secret system to blacklist thousands of workers who were subsequently prevented from getting jobs, often for long periods of time.
In 2009, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), a watchdog body, closed down the blacklist after uncovering confidential files that were held on 3,200 workers and contained details of their working life and trade union activities.
While the blacklist was operating, the construction firms would run the names of prospective workers through the files to check if they were classified as being troublemakers in the eyes of the firms’ managers. Some workers had been blacklisted after they raised concerns about safety on construction sites.
The legal action was taken against 30 firms and four executives, including Balfour Beatty, Carillion, Costain, Kier, Laing O’Rourke, Sir Robert McApline, Skanska UK and Vinci.
In a short statement, the blacklisted workers represented by the Ucatt and GMB trade unions and the law firm Guney, Clark & Ryan said the construction companies had offered financial settlements which had been “accepted as fair and reasonable”. The construction firms will pay the trade unionists’ legal costs, which have not been disclosed.
A joint statement agreed by the construction firms and blacklisted workers is to be read out in court next week.
In October, the construction companies had admitted at a preliminary court hearing that the blacklist was unlawful and apologised to those damaged by it. More than 150 workers – represented by the Unite trade union – have previously secured damages.
Evidence of the inner workings of the blacklist will be aired if the group of workers who have yet to settle their legal action go to trial in the high court.
The existence of the blacklist – run out of an office in Droitwich, Worcestershire – began to be revealed in 2006 when a construction industry manager, Alan Wainwright, blew the whistle. He publicised how it operated and the names of the blacklisted workers on a website.
This led to an article in the Guardian and then to a raid by investigators working for the ICO on the Consulting Association, which maintained the blacklist. Ian Kerr, who had run the operation and has since died, was fined £5,000 for a data protection offence.
Wainwright has launched legal action against more than 35 companies alleging that they are victimising him and denying him work. He has accused the firms of refusing to fairly consider him for jobs because of his role in uncovering the blacklist.
