The court ruled a British Airways strike illegal, overturning a 92% vote in favor by a 80% turnout. The document argues this sets a dangerous precedent against workers' rights to strike. It advocates for unions to defy such rulings and strike anyway, citing examples where this has succeeded. While calling off the BA strike was a setback, the document calls on unions to continue fighting unjust laws and the efforts to weaken unions, rather than surrendering workers' rights.
The court ruled a British Airways strike illegal, overturning a 92% vote in favor by a 80% turnout. The document argues this sets a dangerous precedent against workers' rights to strike. It advocates for unions to defy such rulings and strike anyway, citing examples where this has succeeded. While calling off the BA strike was a setback, the document calls on unions to continue fighting unjust laws and the efforts to weaken unions, rather than surrendering workers' rights.
The court ruled a British Airways strike illegal, overturning a 92% vote in favor by a 80% turnout. The document argues this sets a dangerous precedent against workers' rights to strike. It advocates for unions to defy such rulings and strike anyway, citing examples where this has succeeded. While calling off the BA strike was a setback, the document calls on unions to continue fighting unjust laws and the efforts to weaken unions, rather than surrendering workers' rights.
The court ruled a British Airways strike illegal, overturning a 92% vote in favor by a 80% turnout. The document argues this sets a dangerous precedent against workers' rights to strike. It advocates for unions to defy such rulings and strike anyway, citing examples where this has succeeded. While calling off the BA strike was a setback, the document calls on unions to continue fighting unjust laws and the efforts to weaken unions, rather than surrendering workers' rights.
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Court verdict is a disgrace...
don’t let unjust
law stop the fight I The Vestas wind turbine workers This is a threat to every trade t is an utter disgrace that the courts have bulldozed aside occupied their plant illegally and made union and, if successful, will make it the wishes of trade unionists at front page news across the globe. virtually impossible to organise legal British Airways and ruled a strike If the union gave the nod towards strikes. illegal. Delivering a 92 percent vote for unofficial action it could win again— On 22 October last year, some action on an 80 percent turnout is no just as the BA check-in staff won 14,000 London bus workers in the guarantee that the law will protect you through an unofficial and illegal strike Unite union were due to strike. Union in “democratic Britain”! in 2003. leaders called off the action because of The judge accepted BA’s argument Or perhaps BA workers should do a legal injunction. that some people had voted who, the same as the railworkers at London The same manoeuvre was used in although they still worked at BA, knew Midland did recently and all just happen 2007 to get an injunction against a they were leaving in the future. to decide not to work overtime or do national post strike. Nobody claims that even if these anything else that isn’t in their contract. More recently energy multinational votes were all discounted that it would Or go sick together. EDF stopped an RMT strike because have changed the outcome of the ballot. Millions of people in Britain are a judge decided the union had not But claiming a technical infringement furious that workers are being asked to detailed the exact grades involved. was enough for the bosses to win. pay for the bankers’ and bosses’ crisis. What an outrage that 12 years into a They supported the BA workers and Defiance can win Labour government workers still have would support a fight now. The anti-union laws were brought in so few rights. And why does Unite, the Instead the union leaders accepted by the Tories under Margaret Thatcher BA workers’ union continue to give so that they must reballot—and even that’s and have been maintained in all their many millions to that party? not certain. It’s no help that Unite leader essentials by Labour. Derek Simpson said the 12-day strike They were designed to hamper Don’t back off programme was “probably over the top”. unions’ ability to resist, and to give The best response to the injunction That made it easier for the media to union leaders a way to persuade their would be to strike anyway. On several attack the strike. members not to strike. high-profile occasions recently this There should be a mass trade union is what trade unionists, mainly Unite Battle continues campaign against these laws. In the members, have done—and won. We need much more serious leadership end the only way to win is for a union The Visteon car plants workers if BA workers are not to see jobs to say that it is not going to back down occupied their factory illegally in April destroyed and conditions savaged. in the face of injunctions and threats, and defeated the multinational Ford Calling off the strike is a huge and that it will strike regardless. And corporation. setback. But the battle has to go on. The then every other union, and the TUC Lindsey Oil Refinery workers walked union must not surrender. must support them. out in the summer and spread their The stakes are very high. A very Labour has let down workers and the action to dozens of other sites—without serious push is being made by the state, Tories only offer more of the same. ballots or any of the other legal the bosses and their legal jackals to We need a genuine working class niceties—and they won. extend the anti-union laws by stealth. political alternative.
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