Judge squashes planned strikes by BA union

With just a few hours until the cabin crew of British Airways began a series of four five-day strikes, London’s High Court stepped in and blocked any such walkouts from happening with an 11th hour injunction.

BA was desperately hoping for a victory in court since they claimed the Unite union failed to follow protocol when it came to implementing the aforementioned strikes. With chaos from the ash cloud already putting the carrier in a financial hole, this is the last thing they need right now.

The first of a series of walkouts were to begin this Tuesday May 18 through Saturday May 22, with more strikes scheduled for May 24-28, May 30-June 3 and June
5-9.

Although judge Richard McCombe showed remorse for the union, he added “I am unable to say it is sufficiently clear that the union took the steps required by law at the time they were required.”

A British Airways representative later responded to the verdict by saying, “We are delighted for our customers that Unite’s plans for extreme and unjustified strike action cannot go ahead.”

BA had shuffled around its flight schedule to accommodate the possible strikes, but now that it looks like they will not be happening, the airlines said it will go back to full capacity and have an updated schedule by the weekend.

This is the second time that British Airways was successful in blocking a strike by the Unite union, as just this past December cabin crew members were ready to walk off the job around the busy holiday season until the court stepped in and nixed it.

Which side are you on in this long ongoing battle between British Airways and Unite union?

Source: AFP

Image: Wikimedia