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For many years companies have quietly subscribed to the services of blacklisters. The companies have been feeding private information to those compiling the blacklists and receive information on unionist activists and workers who have taken employers to tribunal. The government envisages introducing regulations before the end of the year to outlaw the keeping of or use of blacklists by employers.

Blacklists operated by or on behalf of employers have ended the careers of thousands of unionists and workers who have taken cases to tribunal or otherwise aroused the ire of employers.

Ministers have been persuaded to act against those preparing and using blacklists after the keeper of one blacklist for the construction industry was exposed earlier this year.

Until then in spite of much anecdotal evidence as to the existence of blacklists the government maintained that in the absence of evidence it could not be expected to act against a hypothetical problem.

In March the information commissioner Richard Thomas closed down the operations of a private investigator Ian Kerr who had maintained an "extensive intelligence database" of 3,000 workers. 40 construction firms were customers of Kerr who provided information on workers from his collection of over 3,200 files. Kerr went as far as to advise companies on whether to employ individual workers or not.

The files contained details of a worker's trade union activities, conduct, warnings such as "ex-shop steward, definite problems, no go", and "poor time-keeper, will cause trouble, strong trade union".

Steve Kelly, an electrician who was a union activist on the Jubilee Line extension received the file on him after applying to the Information Commissioner’s Office. The information contained in the 18 pages of his file shows the extent of the blacklisting. It contained a lot of information about his union activites, private information, and some wrong details.

Steve Kelly's file contained allegations that he was, " a “trouble maker”, “trade union militant” , “strike organiser” , “intimidating workers to join the union”, “threatening supervisors”, and even “writing abuse on the toilet walls”!".

"It went on to state that I was an EPIU activist(a breakaway union from the EEPTU trade union) who was in an alliance with Manchester EPIU activists to “take over other union branches throughout the country.” The fact of the matter is this is completely untrue. The document also contained personal information about my home addresses, National Insurance number, letters I had written to newspapers, copies of leaflets advertising rank and file meetings with my name on it, and even a copy of a union branch meeting minutes where I was present. As a union member, I wonder how this information ended up on the blacklist file."

Another unionist Mick Dooley of UCATT is suing Robert McAlpine after reading his ICO blacklist file. "I got my file and my father's name was mentioned in it. The man fought in the war against Nazis, against tyranny, so that we could live in a free country and not have our names on blacklists".

Ian Kerr owner of the 'Consulting Association' will appear at Macclesfield Magistrates court on May 27 on charges of failing to notify his activities collecting private data under section 17 of the Data Protection Act. If found guilty he may be fined up to £5,000.

Under the Employment Relations Act 1999, the government has the power to introduce regulations prohibiting the blacklisting of workers for their union membership or activities. The Business Secretary Mr Mandelson has announced that regulations will be introduced under the ERA to outlaw blacklists of workers.

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