A former electrician on an industry blacklist has been offered £60,000 in compensation, 37 years after his name was written on the secret file, it has been revealed.
The man, who lives in Scotland, has said he wants to accept the money, even though his union believes he is entitled to over £320,000 because of the way his career was affected.
He is now in his 70s.
Offers have been made to 11 workers whose names were on the blacklist, which came to light in 2009 during a raid on the Consulting Association by the Information Commissioner's Office.
Offers range from £10,000 to £60,000 and total £415,000, according to solicitor Leigh Day, which is involved in the case.
A total of 3,200 construction workers and environmental activists were named on the blacklist and used by dozens of building companies to vet new recruits.
Many of those on the list say they were regularly rejected for jobs, leading some to leave the country to look for work.
A compensation scheme has been launched by construction firms, but unions are pressing ahead with legal action, with a High Court hearing due to be held next May.
The GMB union said today that offers to the 11 were "derisory", given the impact on workers affected.
Legal officer Maria Ludkin said: "It is an indication that the defendants are worried about going to trial. We are looking forward to seeing them in court. The total value of our claim is £30 million and we will be fighting for every penny."
Fresh details of what was written about those on the blacklist were also revealed today, showing how information was sent to firms when people applied for a job.
One worker was described as a "strike leader" after he applied for building work on a hospital, with the entry: "Main contact given details. Company has not employed."
Another entry read: "Was shop steward, involved in safety issues."
The GMB said only around half those on the blacklist know their names were included.
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article