Union rep claims he was abused at Coinford site

A trade union official is considering legal action against Surrey-based contractor Coinford, following claims he was subjected to threats of violence and racial abuse.

London UCATT officer Mick Dooley said the events occurred during a trip to Coinford's Haydons Road site in Wimbledon last week, where it is building houses for Barratt Homes. He said he went to discuss a former employee's allegations of poor site health and safety standards.

Coinford denies the claims of violence and abuse.

Dooley said he was refused entry and was not allowed further than the site's 'welcome hut' despite his claims that he had been given permission by senior Coinford management to be there. He was then allegedly set upon by a group of security guards and Coinford employees when he refused to leave the site.

According to Dooley, they threatened to lock him in the hut. He also claimed that the site's senior project and construction manager stuck a post-it note to his hard hat, invited him to "sort things out outside", and told him to "go back to Scotland and join the Scottish Parliament".

"It was a frightening experience. I had a group of men shouting in my face," Dooley said.

He has now sent a letter to Coinford in which he warned that he was "reserving the right to consult UCATT's solicitors" and pursue legal action.

A spokeswoman for Coinford denied that any abuse or threats of violence were directed at the official. "Whether things got a little bit fraught when he wouldn't leave and security came, I can't get to the bottom of that. Everyone denies it, and say they didn't act this way."

She claimed the firm had agreed to let Dooley visit the site on the understanding that he booked an appointment, something which she said he had not done.

Meanwhile, she said Dooley's complaints that he was threatened with being locked in the 'welcome hut' was a misunderstanding because he had not been allowed to go any further onto the site.

She suggested that Dooley's real motive for being there was to try and boost union membership because unions were a "dying breed".