A letter from Unite’s joint general secretaries
17th December 2009
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
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