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Blacklisting case goes to Strasbourg

A BLACKLISTED worker vowed yesterday to take his fight to change British law on agency workers’ rights to Strasbourg after the Supreme Court rejected his appeal.

Campaigner Dave Smith, a former electrician and union rep, is fighting blacklisters Carillion after he was repeatedly refused work when his name appeared on the Consulting Association blacklist.

But he was told by an employment tribunal in 2013 that he was not protected by British employment law because he was an agency worker. The High Court later upheld this ruling.

Mr Smith, represented by union lawyer John Hendy QC, argues this decision was a breach of his human rights.

However, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court ruled the Human Rights Act had “no application” in his case.

Now Mr Smith will go to the European Court of Human Rights to seek a law change.

“This isn’t just about blacklisted workers, this is about anyone who is on a zero-hours contract or an employment agency who should not have second-class rights,” he said.

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