The Consulting Association was established in 1993 as a successor to the Economic League, which had held the construction industry's blacklist[2] but which had been wound up in 1993 after a parliamentary inquiry and bad press.
Construction company Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd invested a total of £20,000 in founding TCA,[1][3] buying the previous blacklist database from the Economic League and hiring one of its former employees, Ian Kerr, as manager[4][5] (McAlpine also invested £10,000 in founding another Economic League spin-off, CAPRiM, on the understanding that they would not interfere with the Consulting Association).
[1] The database, often referred to as a "list" in the press[9] and by one of its founders,[1][10] operated as a blacklist[2][9][11] against workers who were active trade union members or otherwise vocal on matters such as health and safety violations by their employers.
[20] The ICO listed over 40 construction companies who were current or previous users of the Consulting Association:[21] It has been suggested that after March 2009 blacklisting may have continued via employment agencies.
"[29] In April 2023, Unite launched an independent inquiry to investigate possible collusion by union officials in construction sector blacklisting.
The inquiry, led by a fully independent team of lawyers, would examine whether some trade union officers had been aware of, or had colluded with, the blacklisting of their own members.
In Autumn 2012, the Blacklist Support Group appointed Christian Khan solicitors to submit a complaint over detailed surveillance documented within certain Consulting Association files to the Directorate of Professional Standards.
[33] A clandestine National Extremism Tactical Co-ordination Unit (NETCU) police officer attended one meeting with eight company human resource managers.
The Blacklist Support Group, which along with Ucatt has been given core participant status, has raised concerns that it will be difficult for Pitchford to deliver truth and justice within his stated remit, given that so many allegations refer to dealings between the police and private companies.
[37] In April 2018, the GMB union lodged a Freedom of Information request with Scotland Yard seeking to discover exactly what role the police played in the blacklisting.
[42] The ICO set up a telephone enquiry service for people who suspected they might be listed on The Consulting Association's database, receiving by November 2013 over 4,000 calls.
After mixed results within the tribunal system due to the tight time constraints and employee status placed within legislation, the group took up civil claims which received attention before the High Court of Justice in February 2013.
[9][11] The legal officer for Liberty, Corinna Ferguson, told The Independent: "We can't believe the inaction of the Information Commissioner on a human-rights violation of such wide public interest."
Key witnesses including the late Ian Kerr and Cullum McAlpine gave evidence relating to the Consulting Association.
[46] McAlpine also stated that his company paid the £5,000 fine handed down to Ian Kerr in 2009 upon being found guilty of failing to register TCA under data protection laws.
While acknowledging that some positive steps had been taken, it said "many questions in relation to the practice of blacklisting remain unanswered", and recommended a full public inquiry as a matter of priority in the new Parliament.
[48] In 2012 the multibillion-pound London Crossrail project faced accusations and evidence that blacklisting was still being practised, on the biggest construction contract in Western Europe.
Crossrail's industrial relations manager Ron Barron, employed by Bechtel, had routinely cross-checked job applicants against the Consulting Association database.
[citation needed] The Scottish Affairs Select Committee called on the UK Business Secretary, Vince Cable, to set up a government investigation into blacklisting at Crossrail.
[71] Estimates of the total cost of settlements (including union-achieved settlements, those won by legal firm GCR which secured £6.6m for 167 victims, plus payments via the Construction Workers Compensation Scheme) ranged from £50m[65] to £75m (covering 771 workers, awarded an average of £65,000; plus legal costs on both sides estimated at £25m)[72][73] to £250m (based on a Morning Star figure).
[74] The legal settlements meant the construction firms were spared from public revelations about their involvement with the Consulting Association, but allegations that Sir Robert McAlpine and others had engaged in a cover-up continued.
[75] Victims of the Consulting Association blacklist continued to come forward, and in May 2017 Unite was reported to be instigating a fresh court case involving over 60 members.
[76][77] In December 2017, Unite announced it had issued high court proceedings against four former chairmen of the Consulting Association, alleging breach of privacy, defamation and Data Protection Act offences.
[78] Unite also said it was taking action against 12 major contractors including Sir Robert McAlpine, Skanska, Laing, Kier, Balfour Beatty, Costain and Carillion.