17th December 2009

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On the ruling of the High Court today (Thursday), which has not upheld Unite the union’s ballot of more than 12, 000 cabin crew members, Unite joint general secretaries Derek Simpson and Tony Woodley said: “While we have never wanted this dispute it is a disgraceful day for democracy when a court can overrule such an overwhelming decision by employees taken in a secret ballot.

“We will of course be studying the judgement, but the fact remains that this dispute is not settled. Passing the buck to the courts to do management’s job for them was never going to be the answer.

“BA must accept that there can be no resolution except through negotiation, failing which there will inevitably be a further ballot for industrial action.

“Given the clear mood of cabin crew about management’s imposition of changes on their working lives, this means that the spectre of further disruption to the company’s operations cannot be removed. Only a negotiated agreement can do that.”

A letter from Unite’s joint general secretaries

17th December 2009

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Dear Colleague,

Today’s judgement granting British Airways an injunction to deny you the right to take the industrial action you overwhelmingly balloted for is a disastrous day for democracy. It underlines once again the extent to which the law is tilted against the rights of the ordinary person at work, and how a determined employer with effectively unlimited resources can frustrate your fundamental right to withdraw your labour as a last resort to ensure your voice is heard.

Let us assure you that your representatives and the union’s officials did everything possible to comply with every dot and comma of the incredibly - and deliberately - complex laws designed to make industrial action very difficult, and we are shocked that the judge has made what is a clearly political ruling.

We want to tell you unambiguously that the High Court ruling is not about the legitimacy of your case, nor is it about denying the strength of the majority feeling expressed in the ballot.

It was simply and solely about British Airways exploiting a legal loophole concerning the balloting of colleagues who had applied for voluntary redundancy.

We wish to make it clear to you immediately that this is not the end of the matter. BA management must understand that it cannot sub-contract the conduct of industrial relations to the High Court. The judge’s decision does not mean the end of the dispute. Only a negotiated agreement can ensure that.

Unite will not accept the imposition of new and inferior conditions on cabin crew. We will continue to work on every front to support you in your struggle. Unless BA immediately learns from your overwhelming 92 per cent majority vote and commits to negotiations to address your concerns then we will move directly to a fresh ballot for industrial action.

This will of course leave a cloud over customer confidence in BA’s future operations, but never forget that it is one of the company’s own making.

We would like to thank you for your support for and loyalty to your representatives and to the union. We will continue to need that support more than ever in the coming days and weeks.

We will not let you down and we will ensure that your voice is heard. You may have been silenced today, but you will not be in the future.

Yours sincerely,

Derek Simpson
Tony Woodley

Joint general secretaries

Letter to The Guardian, Saturday 19 December 2009

Gregor Gall

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The high-court decision to grant an injunction against Unite (BA Christmas strike blocked, 18 December) over its strike ballot at British Airways sets two dangerous legal precedents. First, for a judge to take into account the level of disruption ensuing from the action is not one that has a basis in law. A judge has to look at the technical competence of the ballot and whether due diligence was taken by the union in conducting the ballot. This primarily means: were all the types and locations of workers that are likely to strike notified to the employer?

Second, the number of those voting in the ballot who are no longer employed by the company could not have materially affected the outcome of the ballot. To judge otherwise is to interpret the law in a new way, for it is always the case that some workers who voted in a ballot may not be around to take part in any strike action.

The law governing industrial action ballots was already onerous, despite some well-intentioned recent reform by Labour after lobbying from unions. This interpretation in the BA case tightens the screw even more, substantiating Unite’s claim that the ruling was a disgraceful day for democracy.

Professor Gregor Gall

Right to strike is being eroded, says BA union (The Guardian 18 Dec)
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Metrobus ruling (Law Reports)
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