BA granted injunction to stop cabin crew strikes
British Airways has been granted an injunction to stop the Unite union from carrying out cabin crew strikes that had been due to start at midnight tonight.
The High Court ruling, based on a technicality in the balloting procedure, is set to delay the start of the first of a four five-day strikes planned for May and June.
Unite conceded it would have to call off tonight’s strikes but said it would appeal immediately, meaning the case could reach the Court of Appeal as soon as tomorrow.
BA said there will still be some disruption to flights from Heathrow in the early hours of tomorrow morning because it had already put in place contingency plans for the strike.
The injunction offers temporary respite to BA in its long-running dispute with Unite over jobs, pay and staffing, and some relief to travellers many of whom have already seen their plans disrupted by volcanic ash.
The High Court found that the union failed to comply with the legal requirement to “send everyone eligible to vote details of the exact breakdown of the ballot result”.
In a statement, the airline said: “We are delighted for our customers that Unite's plans for extreme and unjustified strike action cannot go ahead.
“We are sorry the court judgment cannot undo the disruption already suffered by some customers who were due to travel during the early days of the union's industrial action.”
Unite’s chief officer for aviation, Steve Turner, said it was “an affront to democracy in our country when our members… can vote in a very open and democratic ballot and that still be ruled unlawful.”
He criticised BA’s “vindictiveness”, after it removed some staff travel benefits and took disciplinary action against 50 staff. “That vindictiveness will not lead to a resolution."
BA had rearranged its Heathrow schedule last Thursday, providing for only 60% of long-haul and 50% of short-haul flights, to take into account the planned strike and prevent passengers from facing last-minute disruptions.
It said a full service would be back in place at Heathrow by the weekend, while the normal timetable would proceed at Gatwick and London City airports, as previously announced.
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Q&A: your options during BA strikes
When are the strikes?
The High Court ruling that granted an injunction against strikes by BA cabin crew has now been overturned and strikes will go ahead from Monday 24 May.
There are three five-day walkouts with one day between each: May 24 to 28, May 30 to June 3 and June 5 to 9. There will be disruptions to flights on all of the strike days, the days between the strikes and for at least a day or two before and after the full strike period, i.e. disruption will continue from today until June 10/11.
Are all BA flights cancelled on the strike dates?
No. Not all BA flights will be cancelled on the strike days.
BA has now announced its full schedule for flights up to June 4. Some previously cancelled flights have been reinstated. If your flight has been reinstated you won’t be automatically booked onto it. You need to rebook through the normal channels.
During the period up to June 4, all flights at Gatwick and London City will operate as normal. At Heathrow, the disruption is likely to impact short-haul and domestic services more than long-haul flights. You can check the status of your flight online, but further to that, you should already have been contacted by the airline if your flight is affected.
The schedule for the next rounds of strikes, on June 5-9, and for the following day on June 10, will be announced on June 1.
Will the strikes definitely go ahead?
It seems unlikely, at this stage, that there will be a resolution between the Unite union and the BA management, because the dispute has been going on for some weeks already. However, both sides say they remain open to talks.
Can I still book flights during the strike period?
Yes. London City and Gatwick flights remain on sale. BA has also now reopened bookings for its Heathrow flights for the first strike period, and will put more Heathrow flights on sale as the schedule is confirmed.
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BA strike starts on Monday on after court strikes down injunction
Tens of thousands of British Airways passengers face flight cancellations over the Whitsun Bank Holiday and school half-term after the Court of Appeal overturned an injunction that was blocking a strike yesterday.
The Unite union said that cabin crew would stop work for five days from Monday, with further five-day walkouts due to start on May 30 and June 5.
Last night BA said that it was considering an appeal to the Supreme Court.
The joint union general secretaries, Derek Simpson and Tony Woodley, issued an ultimatum to Willie Walsh, the BA chief executive, to meet their demands on travel concessions and suspended union members or face the longest strike in the airline’s history.
If the action goes ahead, BA intends to operate a full schedule at Gatwick, a full schedule at London City, about 60 per cent of long-haul flights at Heathrow and about 50 per cent of the airport’s short-haul programme.
BA, which is expected to tell the Stock Exchange today that it has lost hundreds of millions of pounds for the second consecutive year, is showing little sign of giving way. No negotiations are planned and it is forging ahead with contingency plans to keep as many flights as possible running. A spokesman said: “Unite’s strikes have failed twice and they will fail again.”
The company said a peace deal remained on the table. Unite agrees that a deal is close, but the dispute remains locked over BA’s refusal to return unchanged travel concessions to thousands of crew who joined seven strike days in March, and to put the sacking of eight union members during the dispute out to third-party review.
The Appeal Court judges who overturned the injunction said that the dispute could be settled only through negotiation. The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, said: “Legal processes do not constitute mediation. They often serve to inflame rather than mollify the feelings of those involved.”
He sided with Justice Lady Smith to quash a High Court injunction granted on Monday against the strike, though the Master of the Rolls, Lord Neuberger, said that the injunction should stand. Their deliberations turned on the interpretation of section 231 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. The clause says that a union must take all steps “reasonably necessary” to inform all members as quickly as possible after a ballot about the number of votes cast, the number of “yes” votes, “no” votes and the number of spoilt ballots. On February 22 the union sent members e-mails, text messages and tweets saying that the ballot had been carried by an overwhelming majority — but did not give the four pieces of information.
Mr Justice McCombe granted an injunction blocking the strike on those grounds. Lord Judge and Lady Smith overturned the decision and found that by posting results on its website, notice boards at Heathrow and Gatwick, and in a newsletter, the union had complied. Lord Neuberger disagreed. The Transport Secretary, Philip Hammond, said: “It is in the interests of the travelling public, British Airways and the cabin crew, whose jobs depend on the future success of the airline, that both sides now urgently get back around the negotiating table.”
Investors have so far backed Mr Walsh. The City awaits today’s company results, which could take BA’s losses in the past two years to £1 billion.