In 2009 a construction industry blacklist, administered by a private
company holding files on thousands of people, was busted. Evidence is
now emerging of police involvement, bringing yet another layer to the
scandal of police spies and state surveillance.
The impact of revelations that police officers operating undercover
mounted long-term infiltration of protest groups is continuing to be
felt - and one area where information is still coming out involves trade
unions.
In 2009 it was revealed that The Consulting Association, a secret
organisation set up and funded by the construction industry, had kept
files on thousands of workers. The personal information gathered
included details on where people lived, newspaper clippings, gossip from
site managers, notes from union meetings – even graffiti from toilet
walls. These files were then used to vet potential employees and keep
out potential troublemakers. An analysis of the files released so far
show that raising health and safety concerns and being a union activist
was the most likely way to earn oneself a place on the blacklist.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) raided The Consulting
Association, seized its files, prosecuted Ian Kerr, the man who ran it
day-to-day, for breaching the Data Protection Act and warned the
companies who had funded it to behave themselves.
A 16-year spying operation had come to an end. But its secrets would
only slowly start to spill out – pieced together by journalists,
activists and lawyers. One of the deepest secrets was the involvement of
the security services. Evidence now coming to light suggests this
involvement has been standard practice in the state's treatment of trade
unionists.
Open Democracy
