Offshore workers on a secret blacklist have suffered “serious hardship” as a result of them not being able to get new jobs, a union boss says.
Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union regional organiser Jake Molloy told the Press and Journal yesterday about 25 people on the list were known to have been employed by the UK oil and gas industry at one time or another, but there could be many more.
The secret file was discovered during a 2009 Information Commissioner’s Office raid on the Consulting Association, which gathered the names on behalf of construction firms.
Most of the 3,200-plus people on the blacklist worked in construction, although it emerged this year that environmental campaigners and comedian Mark Thomas were also included.
RMT now wants the Information Commissioner to launch a fresh trawl of the records to establish how many people in other industries besides construction are involved.
Mr Molloy said: “We have already identified some from the oil and gas sector but there must be many others.
“A lot of these guys have suffered and struggled for many years to find employment, either offshore or onshore.
“We know for a fact that many of our members have suffered the consequences of backing disputes, and some have experienced severe hardship.”
He said the list included activists in the Offshore Industry Liaison Committee (OILC) union, now part of RMT, at the time of industrial disputes during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Among them was former OILC general-secretary Ronnie McDonald, he added.
Mr McDonald has been called a father of the offshore union movement.
Union bosses have believed for years that offshore workers get kept out of jobs after calling for better conditions or becoming involved in trade unions.
A spokeswoman for industry body Oil and Gas UK last night said: “If unions have evidence that blacklisting is taking place, they have a direct line to the head of health and safety at Oil and Gas UK.
“The HSE (Health and Safety Executive) also has a confidential helpline for these issues to be raised.”
The Consulting Association controversy has led to calls for a Leveson-style inquiry into the blacklisting of so many workers.
Meanwhile, unions are pursuing legal action on behalf of their members in a bid to win them compensation as a result of the scandal and a High Court hearing is due in April.
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