A BOSS cried down the phone at a worker allegedly sacked for union activity after his subcontractor firm was shafted for being troublesome, the Morning Star can reveal.

Construction workers from across Britain descended on investment bank Morgan Stanley’s headquarters in Canary Wharf, east London, early this morning where electrician Graeme Smith was employed on a maintenance job for five days before being given the boot.

Speaking exclusively to the Morning Star, the Unite activist revealed he had been elected as a temporary shop steward for just half an hour before losing his job.

And Mr Smith said managers changed their mind twice about his fate before concluding he could not be reinstated.

The shafted spark said he had applied for work on the building after rank-and-file activists had learned that electrical contractor Phoenix, a signatory to bargaining body the Joint Industry Board (JIB), was breaking national collective agreements.

The firm had employed electricians through sub-contractor D&D, but JIB rules state that workers seeking to move onto direct employment and pay as you earn taxation have a right to do so.

“We had an agreement with management … that anyone who wanted to be taken on the cards would be taken on the cards,” Mr Smith said.But he was sacked by phone by a supervisor from D&D, who “stumbled over his words” when asked if the spark was being victimised for his union activities.

He was then called back by a labour manager, who told him he was not sacked, before being called a third time by D&D director Danny Green and told once again he was being let go.

In a further twist, bosses have hired industrial relations consultant Frank Westerman, a union official turned blacklister, to negotiate on their behalf.

Mr Westerman’s initials appear on numerous blacklist files held by bosses’ club the Consulting Association until a 2009 government raid and his role in the scandal was investigated in Dave Smith and Phil Chamberlain’s book Blacklisted.

Speaking before the demo, Blacklist Support Group secretary Mr Smith said the case was evidence that the “scandal” of blacklisting and victimisation of reps had not gone away.

“All of the construction companies are crying crocodile tears about blacklisting, but not one has apologised and they’re fighting [cases brought by victimised workers] every step of the way in the High Court.

“This is Morgan Stanley v the rank-and-file sparks. Bring it on.”D&D boss Mr Green boasts on his LinkedIn profile: “All our labour are JIB registered.”

In further phone calls over the weekend, the Star has learned that Mr Green was in tears over the situation after it emerged his firm was likely to lose its contract with Phoenix over the issue — plunging it into serious financial trouble.

“I advised him if he calmed down we would calm down,” Mr Smith said. “I advised him to get in contact with JIB to advise where the company should be with the rules. He asked what our demands were and we said immediate reinstatement for me, or gardening leave with promise of reinstatement, PAYE direct employment for all who wanted it and a full meeting on his return.

“But he made next to no concessions. The only thing that would save him he wasn’t prepared to do.”

Protesting workers were joined by builders from Liverpool and Teesside activists protesting against “social dumping” at the construction of a new incinerator.

Morgan Stanley, Phoenix and D&D could not be reached for comment yesterday.