{"id":3903,"date":"2015-04-28T14:49:17","date_gmt":"2015-04-28T13:49:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=3903"},"modified":"2015-04-28T14:49:17","modified_gmt":"2015-04-28T13:49:17","slug":"line-in-the-sand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=3903","title":{"rendered":"Line in the sand"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A Unite workplace rep – blacklisted by his employer, Interserve Industrial Services because of his union activities while working at a power station at Runcorn, Cheshire – has won his employment tribunal (ET) case for unfair dismissal.<\/p>\n

 
\nUnite hailed this as \u00e2\u20ac\u0098a great victory which draws a line in the sand\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 for construction industry bosses who victimise union representatives.<\/p>\n

 
\nJohn Kelly, a rigger\/erector who worked for three years at the energy-from-waste power station being built at Runcorn, was awarded more than \u00c2\u01413,000 by a Liverpool tribunal.<\/p>\n

 
\nThe tribunal decided that as the work at Runcorn was coming to an end in July 2014, Kelly \u00e2\u20ac\u201c described as \u00e2\u20ac\u0098a good worker with considerable experience\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 – was not offered work at the Capenhurst site, also in Cheshire, because he was a workplace rep and a member of Unite.<\/p>\n

 
\nThe judgment stated that Unite regional officer Steve Benson was \u00e2\u20ac\u0098a credible and believable witness\u00e2\u20ac\u2122, while the construction manager, Trevor Collins, responsible for hiring new labour, had made Facebook entries to his friends, expressing his dislike for the \u00e2\u20ac\u0098Liverpudlian elements\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 in the workforce \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a large percentage of whom were from Liverpool.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe tribunal did not find it credible that the claimant (John Kelly) had been considered for vacant positions by Trevor Collins,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 the judgment stated.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIn short, Trevor Collins did not want the claimant (an employee representative for Unite and activist) working on the Capenhurst project under his management; he was motivated by the claimant\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s membership of Unite and his known activities in that capacity.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nUnite assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail said that the union would not tolerate abuse from employers of elected representatives.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis successful employment tribunal decision shows Unite will not suffer in silence while employers try to stifle our voice on construction sites,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Great victory<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis is a great victory which draws a line in the sand for construction industry employers who are tempted to victimise and blacklist our members for carrying out legitimate trade union activities.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe welcome Labour\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pledge to outlaw the odious practice of blacklisting once and for all.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bToday (April 28) workers across the world mark International Workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Memorial Day when we remember the dead and fight for the living,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Cartmail added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bUnite reps are workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 frontline defence against hazardous working conditions and deserve to be applauded not victimised for their efforts.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nJohn Kelly noted how pleased he was to take on an injustice with the help of Unite.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis shows that bad employers can be stood up to and be defeated,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe main reason was to show other lads and shop stewards we are getting blacklisted and we should stand up for our rights.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nJohn Kelly was dismissed in April 2014, but subsequently found work with another company unconnected with this case.
\nUnite director of legal, affiliated services & membership Howard Beckett praised the case as a fine example of how Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s legal services fight successfully on behalf of its 1.4m members.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt shows the strong benefits of belonging to a trade union to obtain representation,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe would like to thank the efforts of EAD Solicitors in bringing John Kelly’s case to a successful conclusion.”<\/p>\n

 
\nThe full ET judgment can be viewed here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Unite workplace rep – blacklisted by his employer, Interserve Industrial Services because of his union activities while working at a power station at Runcorn, Cheshire – has won his employment tribunal (ET) case for unfair dismissal.   Unite hailed this as \u00e2\u20ac\u0098a great victory which draws a line in the sand\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 for construction industry […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3922,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[52],"wps_subtitle":"Tribunal victory for blacklisted Unite rep","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3903"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3903"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3903\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3923,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3903\/revisions\/3923"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}