Construction blacklist compiler - trial starts tomorrow

Ian Kerr, the man who set up The Consulting Association (TCA) and allegedly built up a database of more than 3,000 names of construction workers, goes on trial tomorrow.

The construction blacklist compiler will be charged under the Data Protection Act, according to The Daily Telegraph.

“Kerr is being prosecuted for failing to notify the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) that he was maintaining lists of potential ‘troublemakers’ that allegedly allowed him to ‘unlawfully trade personal information’ over many years,” said the newspaper.

Kerr first hit the headlines back in March when it was revealed that more than 40 construction firms were found to have been buying confidential data on workers in secret for the past 15 years.

A raid on the office of TCA, based in Droitwich, Worcestershire, in the spring revealed a serious breach of the Data Protection Act, according to the ICO.

The objective of buying and then holding this confidential information is thought to have been to help employers steer clear of disruption that follows the footsteps of union militants.

The ICO said a secret system was run for over 15 years enabling employers to unlawfully vet job applicants.

Action is being considered against more than 40 firms who used the service.
Comments entered against individuals’ names included such entries as "lazy and a trouble stirrer", "ex-shop steward… definite problems… No Go" and "Communist Party".

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson welcomed the intervention of the information commissioner.

"He will need to look into this further to see whether these practices are more widespread and take the appropriate action, as he's already done in this case," Mandelson commented at the time.

Employers paid £3,000 as an annual fee plus a further £2.20 for individual details, the ICO said.

Invoices to construction firms for up to £7,500 were reported to have been seized during the raid.

The ICO served an Enforcement Notice ordering TCA's owner to stop using the system and pressured Kerr to cease trading altogether.
 
ICO deputy information commissioner David Smith said at the time: "Trading people's personal details in this way is unlawful and we are determined to stamp out this type of activity."
Ian Kerr, of Droitwich, Worcestershire, who ran TCA, is said to have had a database of 3,213 workers. Names were accompanied by notes such as “poor timekeeper, will cause trouble”.