Electrician wins his case

Blacklisted electrician wins his case

Andy Ford

Steve Acheson has won his Employment Tribunal (ET) for ‘Unlawful Refusal of Employment’ three and a half years ago. On 11 March he finally got awarded damages of £11,000.

Although it is a victory and vindication for Steve, the chairman cut Steve’s damages by 75%, leaving him massively out of pocket.

Steve has been victim of a conspiracy to deprive him of work over a period of years. Now he has been let down by the Tribunal system.

Steve told the Socialist: “I’m massively disappointed at the remedy hearing, my losses of earnings were £28,000.

“Obviously the backdating and the injury to feelings stuff is a bonus, but that can’t compensate for the hearing knocking 75% off.

“It means I’ve got £20,000 less than I should have got and the only words I can use for that are ‘massively disappointed’.”

Steve was dismissed on 19 December 2008 from an engineering project at Fiddler’s Ferry power station in Warrington.

His actual ET case was won in October 2009 for Unlawful Refusal of Employment – blacklisting in plain speech.

The chairman at that time said it was one of the world’s most unfair dismissals, but not illegal.

The North West regional committee of Unite is pursuing an inquiry into the reality of the claim by the employer that they had an ‘otherwise agreement’ with the union on site, made at the Project Joint Council, which allowed Steve’s dismissal.

That left the Unlawful Refusal case. The first Remedy Hearing in December 2009 was postponed due to a claimed car crash by the HR manager from the firm which dismissed Steve. Case adjourned – for over three years!

Now at last Steve has won his case, but the amount is less than Steve’s excellent barrister, Nick Toms, put in for.

The amount was reduced because of an argument from the employers that Steve would have been made redundant anyway after a few more months.

It was reduced by 75% because the chairman estimated Steve’s chances of being made a charge hand and so avoiding early redundancy, at 75%. Steve fights on.

  • Benefit do for Steve Acheson, with Ken Loach speaking. Friday 22 March, 7pm, Saffron Restaurant, 107 Cheetham Hill Road, Cheetham Hill, Manchester, M8 8PY. Tickets £20 waged/£12 unwaged, all proceeds to Steve Acheson.