High Court rules in favour of British Airways to halt Christmas strike

Hundreds of travelers throughout Northern Ireland received the welcome news that the High Court had found in favour of British Airways Plc on Thursday to prevent a 12-day cabin crew strike. Had the strike gone ahead hundreds of passengers to and from Belfast would most likely have been stranded over Christmas.

The airline's cabin crew had balloted to walk out for 12 days from December 22 over a dispute about job losses and procedural changes.

The High Court in London ruled in favour of BA who had complained of irregularities in the balloting process organised by Unite. They claimed they breached industrial relations law by including approximately 1,000 staff that had already left the company or were due to leave shortly.

Judge Laura Cox commented on the timing of the strike by saying "a strike of this kind over the 12 days of Christmas is fundamentally more damaging to BA and the wider public than a strike taking place at almost any other time of the year."

A statement released by BA expressed their delight at the outcome of the ruling saying "It is a decision that will be welcomed by hundreds of thousands of families in the UK and around the world." It was estimated that had the strike gone ahead BA would have stood to lose 30 million pounds every day.

Unite union on the other hand called it a "disgraceful day for democracy." The Union is expected to hold another ballot and of course has the option to apply to the Court of Appeal. However, with the courts breaking off on Tuesday for the holiday period it will be difficult for any challenge to be mounted before Christmas.

The story had been closely followed by travelers, employers and solicitors alike to see how the court would deal with the proposed strike.


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