BA strike faces injunction threat

Airline begins legal action to block Christmas industrial action after Unite union ballots members who have accepted redundancy

15 December 2009

British Airways claims the union vote for strike action was null and void. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

British Airways today started legal proceedings against the Unite union over a 12-day Christmas strike by cabin crew, as the airline prepares to block a crippling walkout in the courts.

BA is seeking an injunction to prevent the strike going ahead between 22 December and 2 January due to alleged irregularities in the ballot. Willie Walsh, BA chief executive, said: "We are absolutely determined to do whatever we can to protect our customers from this appalling, unjustified decision from Unite. We do not want to see a million Christmases ruined."

Taking a hardline stance with Unite, Walsh accused the union of "cynically" proceeding with the action despite knowing that it might be blocked. "It cynically went ahead with an extreme, highly publicised threat to our customers and our business in the knowledge that it might not be able to carry it out."

This morning the airline served union representatives with a "letter before action" asking detailed questions about the strike ballot. BA said it had not received responses by the 2pm deadline and was now seeking an injunction against industrial action in the high court.

The news adds to the uncertainty for nearly one million BA passengers who have booked flights during the strike period of 22 December to 2 January and are considering whether to reschedule, book with rival airlines or make their trip by train or car instead.

BA is attempting to salvage as much of its schedule as possible following the announcement of the lengthy walkout, amid union claims that a cabin-crew strike will ground the carrier at all airports including London City, Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester. BA said this afternoon that it was scouring staff rotas and flight schedules to examine whether some services could go ahead.

"As a back-up to the legal action, British Airways managers have been establishing which cabin crew might wish to work normally during the strike period," said BA.

A BA letter delivered this morning, which forms the basis for the injunction and a potential compensation claim, centres on the balloting of cabin crew who have accepted voluntary redundancy. About 1,000 cabin crew have accepted payoffs in recent months, but may have filled in ballot forms while they were awaiting BA's response to their redundancy applications.

The British Airways chief executive, Willie Walsh, personally warned Unite union leaders about legal concerns at a meeting at BA's headquarters near Heathrow airport last Friday. In a prelude to today's legal moves, Walsh handed another letter to Tony Woodley and Derek Simpson, the joint general secretaries of Unite, that raised potential legal objections to the strike.

BA referred to those letters this afternoon, saying that since Friday it had sent three letters to the union highlighting voting irregularities.

Rumours of potential legal action against Unite sewpt through cabin crew . A posting on a website run by Bassa, the Unite cabin crew branch, warned that Walsh had threatened Woodley with legal action last week. "Tony Woodley has been handed a letter by WW stating the ballot is null and void due to papers being posted to crew who have left the company."

According to one compensation estimate being discussed among Bassa members, BA could sue for damages of up to £1m per day if a legal ruling says yesterday's vote was null and void. However, Unite is confident that an 80% turnout of members, with more than 90% voting in favour, is a strong enough mandate to push ahead with industrial action.

Unite officials are adamant that a walkout will ground the entire airline apart from a handful of long-haul services that are scheduled to arrive at Heathrow on 22 and 23 December. A BA spokesman said: "We are looking at our contingency plans. It will involve a large amount of work and we will look at every option available to us."

Source : http://www.guardian.co.uk