Case Study About Industrial Disputes in Public Sector
Case Study Thirteen: The anatomy of a strike – British Airways and Unite
The industrial dispute between British Airways and Unite (the UK general union with over two million members) in the spring of 2010 provides a fascinating insight into the anatomy of an industrial dispute involving not only an employer and its employees, but also the government, political parties, customers and the media.
BA employs about 13,500 flight attendants of whom about 12,000 are members of Unite. In February 2010, 81 per cent of BA cabin crew staff (on a turnout of 79 per cent of employees eligible to vote) who were members of Bassa, the cabin crew branch of Unite, voted in favour of industrial action in a row over proposed staffing cuts and changes to working conditions. This follows a previous ballot in late-2009 which overwhelmingly supported 12 days of strike action which British Airways successfully challenged in the high court (who then granted BA's request for an injunction against the strike on the basis of a balloting error that breached the 1992 Trade Union Act). This initial ballot was a response to BA unilateral decision to reduce cabin crew on long-haul flights by at least one person to reduce costs in response to a pre-tax loss of £401m in the previous year. At that time, Unite wrote to cabin crew claiming that the ruling ‘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’. The ballot in February 2010 followed no further progress to resolve the dispute despite extensive negotiation.
Seven days of strike action subsequently took place on two separate occasions in March 2010. BA responded to the walkout in a number of ways. First, they withdrew discounted travel perks for air stewards, a significant and valued benefit. Second, they
The industrial dispute between British Airways and Unite (the UK general union with over two million members) in the spring of 2010 provides a fascinating insight into the anatomy of an industrial dispute involving not only an employer and its employees, but also the government, political parties, customers and the media.
BA employs about 13,500 flight attendants of whom about 12,000 are members of Unite. In February 2010, 81 per cent of BA cabin crew staff (on a turnout of 79 per cent of employees eligible to vote) who were members of Bassa, the cabin crew branch of Unite, voted in favour of industrial action in a row over proposed staffing cuts and changes to working conditions. This follows a previous ballot in late-2009 which overwhelmingly supported 12 days of strike action which British Airways successfully challenged in the high court (who then granted BA's request for an injunction against the strike on the basis of a balloting error that breached the 1992 Trade Union Act). This initial ballot was a response to BA unilateral decision to reduce cabin crew on long-haul flights by at least one person to reduce costs in response to a pre-tax loss of £401m in the previous year. At that time, Unite wrote to cabin crew claiming that the ruling ‘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’. The ballot in February 2010 followed no further progress to resolve the dispute despite extensive negotiation.
Seven days of strike action subsequently took place on two separate occasions in March 2010. BA responded to the walkout in a number of ways. First, they withdrew discounted travel perks for air stewards, a significant and valued benefit. Second, they