Bruce Carr QC advises BA as “legal blitz” forces new strike ballot by cabin crew
Proposed industrial action by British Airways (BA) cabin crew has been cancelled following what UNITE the union's general secretary Len McLuskey, described as a “legal blitz” by the BA legal team. BA had challenged the validity of the most recent ballot in correspondence with the independent scrutineer, following which the union decided that it would not rely on the ballot result in order to call for further strike action by its members. Bruce Carr QC (together with Paul Gott) advised BA.
The industrial dispute between BA and Unite began in 2009 following a change to crew numbers on BA flights. There have now been three ballots for industrial action. The first was the subject of the successful Christmas anti-strike injunction (2009) in which Bruce Carr acted for BA. The second ballot was also the subject of legal action and its validity is to be determined in a High Court trial due to take place on 16-18 March 2011. The third ballot is now not relied upon by the union.
Bruce Carr QC has been retained by BA in relation to the dispute since the summer of 2009. A full report of the most recent ballot outcome may be found here.
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