Bid to block strikes over BA pilot pay dispute fails

High Court throws out interim injunction sought by airline company in legal action

British Airways has failed in a High Court bid to temporarily block pilots from taking strike action in a dispute over pay.

The British Airline Pilots’ Association (Balpa) announced on Monday that its members backed industrial action over a pay dispute by more than nine to one, on a turnout of 90%.

BA took legal action in an attempt to halt the strikes, which it claims are designed to cause “the maximum in disruption” and could cost the airline up to £40 million a day.

Yesterday, BA applied for an interim injunction to prevent strike action by pilots based at Heathrow and Gatwick, arguing that Balpa’s ballots did not comply with trade union law.

Following a hearing in London, Mrs Justice Elisabeth Laing dismissed BA’s application for a temporary injunction, ruling that Balpa was “more likely than not” to establish at a full trial that its strike ballots were properly issued.

The judge gave permission for BA to appeal against her ruling, which could be heard by the Court of Appeal as early as this Friday or at the start of next week

Balpa agreed to give an undertaking to the court that they would not issue a notice of industrial action pending the outcome of any appeal.

In a statement after the ruling, a BA spokesman said: “We are very disappointed with today’s decision.

“We will continue to pursue every avenue to protect the holidays of thousands of our customers this summer.

“Our proposed pay offer of 11.5% over three years is fair, and by contrast to Balpa, the Unite and GMB trade unions – which represent nearly 90% of all British Airways colleagues – have already recommended the same pay offer to their members.

“We remain open to working with Balpa to reach agreement, which we have been doing since December, and we urge Balpa to return to talks as soon as possible. Further information and updates are available at ba.com.”

In a statement, Balpa general secretary Brian Strutton said: “While we’re pleased with the judge’s decision, we’re frustrated that time has been wasted.

“BA could have spent this time coming back to the negotiating table instead of trying – and failing – to tie us up in legal knots.

“This delay will now continue with BA seeking to appeal against the High Court’s decision. As a result it’s now likely the talks scheduled with Acas on Friday will have to be postponed.

“We ask that BA thinks hard about why 93% of our members feel so strongly about taking strike action.”

Picture: PA. British Airways aircraft at London’s Heathrow airport.