United Nations' Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association Mr Maina Kiai has criticised the UK's lack of trade union rights. In a statement…he urged the government to improve the law by providing further freedoms to trade unionists. There were two main areas of concern for Mr Kiai: The nationwide ban on general strikes, which was first introduced by Thatcher in 1982, and the evidence that blacklisting has been performed within the construction industry in recent years and may even be ongoing…"I was appalled to hear about the existence of a blacklist of union members in the construction industry, with no sanctions allegedly taken against those who benefitted from the list. It is crucial that strong actions be taken against the making and using of such lists as a deterrence," Mr Kiai said. [refers to Balfour Beatty, Sir Robert McAlpine]