Meet Dave Smith, of the Blacklist Support Group. This is a photograph from an event earlier this year, to mark the outcome of his Tribunal claim for detriment short of dismissal (i.e. blacklisting by the construction companies).

Dave lost his claim (you should see how he parties when he wins), on the basis of Tribunal findings that a) he was not an employee of the construction companies who blacklisted him, and b) that at that relevant time the law only protected employees (conventionally understood).

He was celebrating because before the case got to that point, his employers conceded that Dave had been subject to a detriment (i.e. had suffered a loss) and that the reason for their treatment of him was to punish him for his activities as a union health and safety rep.

Dave and I will be speaking together on my book Struck Out, at two places in particular in the next week or so:

7 July, 11.45am, Marxism festival

14 July, 2.30pm Tolpuddle festival

All readers of this blog are very welcome to attend either – or both