British Airways Union Wins Strike Injunction Appeal

On Thursday, Unite won a court appeal against the High Court injunction put into place on Monday to stop British Airways cabin crew from striking. The decision to overturn the ruling was deliberated by 3 judges since Tuesday, which means that the union missed out on their first round of 5-day strikes. They say that they will simply move on with the industrial action plan to strike on Monday (May 24) and then again on May 30 and June 5.

The injunction was put into place due to a technicality about how Unite told their members about the result of the latest strike ballot – by posting the results on staff noticeboards. British Airways argued that how the union told the crew was insufficient, and the court agreed on Monday. However, Thursday it was announced that 2 out of the three judges disagreed with the initial ruling. This means that Unite doesn’t have to re-ballot its members for industrial action again.

Tony Woodley, the joint general secretary of Unite, said that the union is happy to have won the appeal. Justice has been secured, and if it hadn’t been, the right to strike would be hanging by a thread, he continued. British Airways has to accept that the only way to find a solution to this dispute is through negotiation – not litigation – he said. Woodley also warned that more industrial action would come if the airline doesn’t work to address outstanding problems.

In response to the injunction being overturned, British Airways said in a statement that they are disappointed for their passengers. They will run contingency plans as scheduled to keep the airline flying, they continued. Unite strikes failed twice before, the carrier added, and they will fail again.