Blacklisted (paperback)

The Consulting Association scandal, which hit the papers in late 2012, revealed what has come to be seen as the worst human rights abuse of workers in the UK for 60 years. Since its foundation by construction company Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd in 1993, TCA has maintained an illicit database of unionised British construction workers who have been branded ‘militant troublemakers’ and includes intrusive details of their personal and family relationships, which have been largely used as a database of information against them. This book brings together, for the first time, the controversial story of the illegal strategies that multinational construction companies were willing to resort to in their attempt to keep union activists away from their places of work. This is a story where spying and collusion with the police and security services resulted in victimisation, violence and long-term unemployment which ultimately lead to the destruction of families and communities. Based on first-hand accounts of these workers, Blacklisted reveals how they were unlawfully victimised for their troubles and, ultimately, how they finally won justice for their years of pain. A story of ordinary working men taking on some of the most powerful multinational construction firms in the world: this is the tale of a modern-day David and Goliath.