According to this article, if workers take industrial action over the same problem for more than three months, they can be fired en masse. So as long as a company hangs on, they can behave as badly as they like and get away with it.
It is of course Tory legislation from the 1980s. And, equally inevitably, Blair's New Labour government left it in place. The party founded by the trade unions spent a lot of time boasting to international corporations that the UK has the least workers' protection of any developed country.
Even I'm pretty shocked by this one. Don't fly British Airways. They're total bastards. If you have to, be extra nice to their cabin crew, who behind the smiles are having a tough time. Support Unite's campaign.
Showing posts with label british airways. Show all posts
Showing posts with label british airways. Show all posts
Tuesday, 8 February 2011
Thursday, 20 May 2010
A battle won
British Airways cabin crew have won their appeal against an ban on their strike action. They're fighting degraded working conditions and victimisation, and British Airways' only weapons are technicalities (in this case, how exactly the union communicates ballot results to its members), which the Appeal Court have rejected. BA will probably go to the Supreme Court, but in the meantime, the struggle continues.
Victory to the workers! And I'll have a glass of wine and a blanket please.
Meanwhile, the Tories and Lib Dems have shown their true colours by announcing that they'll privatise the Royal Mail. Because, obviously, when you need a fair, universal service, you give it to profit-making organisation which will reduce wages, staffing levels and service coverage. Brilliant. Rural folk can now look forward to not receiving mail, as a punishment for living in sparsely populated areas. Service in poor areas will decline, junk mail will increase, deliveries will get later and prices will rocket. Shameful.
Victory to the workers! And I'll have a glass of wine and a blanket please.
Meanwhile, the Tories and Lib Dems have shown their true colours by announcing that they'll privatise the Royal Mail. Because, obviously, when you need a fair, universal service, you give it to profit-making organisation which will reduce wages, staffing levels and service coverage. Brilliant. Rural folk can now look forward to not receiving mail, as a punishment for living in sparsely populated areas. Service in poor areas will decline, junk mail will increase, deliveries will get later and prices will rocket. Shameful.
Monday, 17 May 2010
This is Lawfare
An extremely unpleasant aspect of modern industrial relations is employers turning to the courts to prevent workers withdrawing their labour, despite overwhelming votes to strike. It's made easier by a set of 1980s union-bashing laws never repealed by the so-called Labour Party.
The British Airways staff voted massively in favour of a strike. BA has had the strike cancelled by the courts on a ridiculous technicality, a trap set by the Tories 20 years ago.
The British Airways staff voted massively in favour of a strike. BA has had the strike cancelled by the courts on a ridiculous technicality, a trap set by the Tories 20 years ago.
When balloting for strikes, unions should give those who took part a detailed breakdown of the result, as required by section 231 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.
The union's barrister, John Hendy QC, said the airline had not been able to find even one employee who did not know the result of the ballot, which voted overwhelmingly for strike action.
This is madness. The ballot was legal. Union members knew the results. In this day and age, a letter in the post isn't relevant: union members see their reps, check Facebook and read websites.
The facts are these: every member was informed of the result. However, the fact that 11 (eleven) ballot papers were spoiled, out of the 10-12,0000 cast, was 'only' publicised on the union notice board in every workplace - apparently that doesn't count as 'notification', according to this one judge's interpretation.
What we're seeing is simple union-bashing, inspired and directed by specialist US law firms dedicated to furthering corporate power. Yes, Unite should have seen this coming, but the fact remains: these kinds of laws breach the globally-recognized right to strike. No doubt my employer, and every other one, is learning that the courts (staffed exclusively by rightwing, male, white, upper-class, private school and Oxbridge judges) will always defend corporate interests.
I've just made an official complaint to the BBC about John Humphrys' interview with the union's leader on this matter - Humphrys clearly crossed the line and emotionally hectored Derek Simpson from the perspective of BA's board of directors, rather than making any attempt to be impartial or objective.
The facts are these: every member was informed of the result. However, the fact that 11 (eleven) ballot papers were spoiled, out of the 10-12,0000 cast, was 'only' publicised on the union notice board in every workplace - apparently that doesn't count as 'notification', according to this one judge's interpretation.
What we're seeing is simple union-bashing, inspired and directed by specialist US law firms dedicated to furthering corporate power. Yes, Unite should have seen this coming, but the fact remains: these kinds of laws breach the globally-recognized right to strike. No doubt my employer, and every other one, is learning that the courts (staffed exclusively by rightwing, male, white, upper-class, private school and Oxbridge judges) will always defend corporate interests.
I've just made an official complaint to the BBC about John Humphrys' interview with the union's leader on this matter - Humphrys clearly crossed the line and emotionally hectored Derek Simpson from the perspective of BA's board of directors, rather than making any attempt to be impartial or objective.
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