Going on strike is “nearly impossible” under current industrial laws, a trade union meeting heard this week. Employment law barrister John Hendy warned that employers’ ability to legally challenge unions over minor mistakes in their industrial action ballots – such as British Airways’ successful injunction against the cabin crew strike last year – had taken away the right to strike. The warning came as union officials and activists heard from Labour MP John McDonnell about his private member’s bill, which aims to prevent successful ballots for industrial action from being struck down by the courts over technicalities.
Mr Hendy, who has drafted the bill, said: “It’s nearly impossible for a union to organise lawful industrial action but I don’t think that situation’s really changed. This legislation is so unbelievably convoluted and complex.” When Unite’s Bassa branch balloted cabin crew last year, it was unable to tell which of its members were going to leave the company – and therefore whether to ballot them or not. British Airways successfully blocked the strike because some of those balloted had taken redundancy.
But Mr Hendy said the maximum difference it could have made was to reduce the 94 per cent majority vote by 1 per cent. Bassa secretary Duncan Holley called the injunction “devastating”.
Mr McDonnell said he was hopeful the bill would not be struck down when MPs debate it on October 22. “If we can get it into the parliamentary process the next day, you never know.”
