Consulting Association: Difference between revisions
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The '''Consulting Association''' was an organisation in the United Kingdom which maintained a list of construction workers some of whom were active trade union members, or were otherwise vocal on matters such as unofficial health and safety complaints in their industry. |
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The '''Consulting Association''' was an organisation in the United Kingdom which maintained a list of construction workers some of whom were active trade union members, or were otherwise vocal on matters such as unofficial health and safety complaints in their industry. Some were suspected by construction companies of being left-wing troublemakers. Workers who were on the list allege they were deprived of their livelihoods as a result of their inclusion, with supporters claiming their human rights have been breached. Liberty has written to the Information Commissioner, Sir Christopher Graham, accusing him of inaction over a privacy scandal that it compares to phone hacking. Liberty is threatening to go to court to force him to investigate the case. Details of the blacklist emerged in 2009 when it emerged that an organisation called Consulting Association held files on about 3,200 construction workers, including political activists, shop stewards and health and safety representatives. The database was seized four years ago and Ian Kerr, who had been employed to facilitate the exchange of information, was fined £5,000. Invoices were discovered showing that 44 companies in total had paid to access the information inputted by member companies, although there were never more than 20 member companies subscribing at any one time. Sir Robert McAlpine, the construction giant and builder of the Olympic stadium, has been served with legal papers over its alleged involvement in the database. In light of the legal action, Liberty said the time had come for the ICO to reopen an investigation into the use of the database. |
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Its member base consisted of 20 construction companies at any given time who would supply details of existing or former employees who had engaged in unofficial trade union or political activity. They could in turn enquire whether TCA had information about prospective employees. Companies would pay an annual £3,000 subscription, and £2.20 for each enquiry to cover the running costs of the Consulting Association. It was a non profit making trade association. |
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On February 23, 2009, the company's office was raided by the Office of the Information Commissioner, which served an enforcement notice against TCA under the terms of the Data Protection Act. Which companies used The Consulting Association? |
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The list below shows the companies that subscribed to The Consulting Association. The use of brackets indicates where companies have undergone a change of name or where subsidiaries have been absorbed by parent companies. Ex members may no longer exist or no longer avail themselves of the service. |
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Amec Building Ltd |
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Amec Construction Ltd |
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Amec Facilities Ltd |
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Amec Ind Div |
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Amec Process & Energy Ltd |
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Amey Construction – Ex Member |
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B Sunley & Sons – Ex Member |
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Balfour Beatty |
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Balfour Kilpatrick |
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Ballast (Wiltshire) PLc – Ex Member |
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Bam Construction (HBC Construction) |
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Bam Nuttall (Edmund Nutall Ltd) |
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C B & I |
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Cleveland Bridge UK Ltd |
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Costain UK Ltd |
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Crown House Technologies |
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(Carillion/Tarmac Const) |
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Diamond M & E Services |
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Dudley Bower & Co Ltd – Ex Member |
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Emcor (Drake & Scull) - ‘Ex Ref’ |
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Emcor Rail |
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G Wimpey Ltd – Ex Member |
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Haden Young |
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Kier Ltd |
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John Mowlem Ltd -Ex Member |
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Laing O’Rourk (Laing Ltd) |
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Lovell Construction (UK) Ltd – Ex Member |
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Miller Construction Limited – Ex Member |
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Morgan Ashurst |
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Morgan Est |
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Morrison Construction Group – Ex Member |
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N G Bailey |
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Shepherd Engineering Services |
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Sias Building Services |
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Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd |
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Skanska (Kaverna/Trafalgar |
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House Plc) |
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SPIE (Matthew Hall) - Ex Member |
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Taylor Woodrow Construction Ltd – Ex Member |
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Turriff Construction Ltd –Ex Member |
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Tysons Contractors – Ex Member |
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Walter Llewellyn & Sons Ltd - Ex Member |
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Whessoe Oil & Gas |
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Willmott Dixon – Ex Member |
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Vinci PLC (Norwest Holst Group).}}</ref> |
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The Scottish Affairs Select Committee convened an inquiry. Key witnesses including the late Ian Kerr and Cullum McAlpine of the Consulting Association have given evidence relating to the company. McAlpine was the chair of the entity over a number of years and was the founding chair at its inception in 1993. |
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The multi billion pound [[Crossrail|London Crossrail]] project has also been beset with accusations and evidence that blacklisting is still being practised on this, the biggest construction contract in Western Europe. |
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==Member organisations== |
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The OIC press release included a list of over 40 construction companies who were current or previous users of TCA.<ref name="ICO-companies-list"/> |
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* [[AMEC]] (Amec Building Ltd, Amec Construction Ltd, Amec Facilities Ltd, Amec Ind Div, Amec Process & Energy Ltd) |
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* [[Amey plc|Amey Construction]] – Ex Member |
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* B Sunley & Sons – Ex Member |
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* [[Balfour Beatty]] |
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* Balfour Kilpatrick |
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* Ballast (Wiltshire) PLC – Ex Member |
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* BAM Construction (HBC Construction) |
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* [[BAM Nuttall]] (Edmund Nutall Ltd) |
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* C B & I |
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* [[Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company|Cleveland Bridge UK Ltd]] |
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* [[Costain Group|Costain UK Ltd]] |
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* Crown House Technologies ([[Carillion]]/Tarmac Const) |
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* Dudley Bower & Co Ltd – Ex Member |
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* [[Emcor]] (Drake & Scull) - ‘Ex Ref’, Emcor Rail |
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* [[George Wimpey|G Wimpey Ltd]] – Ex Member |
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* Haden Young |
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* [[Kier Group|Kier Ltd]] |
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* [[John Mowlem]] Ltd - Ex Member |
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* [[Laing O'Rourke]] (Laing Ltd) |
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* Lovell Construction (UK) Ltd – Ex Member |
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* [[Miller Construction]] Limited – Ex Member, |
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* [[Morgan Sindall Group|Morgan Ashurst]], [[Morgan Est]] |
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* [[Morrison Construction]] Group - Ex Member |
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* N G Bailey |
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* [[Shepherd Building Group|Shepherd Engineering Services]] |
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* Siac Building Services |
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* [[Sir Robert McAlpine]] |
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* [[Skanska]] (Kaverna/Trafalgar House Plc) |
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* SPIE (Matthew Hall) - Ex Member |
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* [[Taylor Woodrow]] Construction Ltd – Ex Member |
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* Turriff Construction Ltd – Ex Member |
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* Tysons Contractors – Ex Member |
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* Walter Llewellyn & Sons Ltd - Ex Member |
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* [[Whessoe]] Oil & Gas Willmott Dixon – Ex Member |
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* [[Vinci (construction)|Vinci PLC]] (Norwest Holst Group) |
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Revision as of 11:07, 10 June 2013
The Consulting Association was an organisation in the United Kingdom which maintained a list of construction workers some of whom were active trade union members, or were otherwise vocal on matters such as unofficial health and safety complaints in their industry.