Race is on for blacklist claims

Workers on the industry blacklist have got less than three months to lodge any potential claims against contractors who turned them down for jobs.

Details on nearly 3,213 workers were held by the Consulting Association, which was used by 40 of the industry's biggest contractors.

Thousands of people have called a special hotline to see if they are on the list. Union leaders are now warning that affected workers only have a limited window to pursue potential compensation claims.

A Unite spokesman said: "Blacklisting gives rise to potential claims under section 137 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 which makes it unlawful to refuse employment to a person on trade union grounds."

Claims have to be lodged within three months of the date of refusal of work unless it "is not reasonably practical".

The Unite spokesman said: "A lot of these cases are historic and outside the time frame but we would argue these are extraordinary circumstances. We are still urging people to get claim documents in as quickly as possible."

A number of current and former union officials have discovered they are on the list.

Ex-Unite London regional official Frank Westerman said: "It's pretty outrageous that I'm on a blacklist just for doing my job and defending the rights of members "

Current Unite organiser Harry Cowap said: "I presume my blacklisting goes back to my days at Bluewater Park when I started getting involved in workers' rights.

"It's a sad day when you are discriminated against for sticking-up for fellow workers."