Chairman's Message

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Trade Unions, when they ballot for and take industrial action, have immunity from claims for damages from a business if they comply with the laws governing ballots and strikes. This is a fundamental requirement of any free society which allows Trade Unions to exist. Otherwise no TU could ever take industrial action without the fear of the employer taking them to court and suing them for damages.. This was something which the English courts decided upon as far back as 1906 when the Trades Dispute Act was passed. BALPA obviously took plenty of legal advice and ensured our ballot was lawful. BA has never sought to challenge the legality of the ballot. In fact they encouraged everyone to vote. They just do not like the outcome and are simply seeking to frustrate your right to take industrial action.

 

They have taken a piece of EU legislation which is designed to prevent anti-competitive behaviour (Article 43 of the Treaty of Rome) and sought to use it in a way which we believe it was never intended for. Essentially Article 43 gives a person or company in one  EU State the right to start a business in another EU State . If someone or some organisation tries to restrict the setting up of that business they fall foul of article 43 and they can be sued for unlimited damages. BA is seeking to rely Article 43 to prevent you from taking action to protect your job security and conditions of employment.

 

BA threatened that if we served notice of strike they would seek an injunction preventing the strike and unlimited damages because we would be restricting their right to start up OpenSkies by making it too costly through the proposed changes to our agreements and any other costs associated with the dispute.

 

We decided to take the initiative and apply to the courts ourselves and ask them to declare our strike action legal and that Article 43 does not apply in this case.

 

We are now in the process of seeking a speedy resolution to this matter. Speedy in legal terms means between 4 to 8 weeks instead on 1 to 2 years. There is no nothing of course to stop us re-entering negotiations with BA during the time the court case is going on and we would welcome the chance to consider any new offers they wish to make. .

 

From the very beginning they have tried to ignore their loyal employees who want to make OS a success.. You know they refused to talk to the BACC for months and then only agreed to enter any negotiations with the threat of a ballot. Throughout those negotiations they have said they do not really want BA pilots anywhere near the OS operation and when we have the temerity to object they came up with all sorts of spurious excuses as to why OS will not impact on your futures and that of your families. We know from the Qantas/Jetstar experience what can happen when an airline sets up a rival  subsidiary. Captain Ian Woods of the Australian pilots union has spoken to you before about the impact that Jetstar had on the Qantas pilots.

 

Even with all the spin the Company put out, you saw through it and gave the BACC an overwhelming mandate for strike action and now BA is trying to deny you your right, enshrined in law, to withdraw your labour, by using a piece of EU legislation.

 

Throughout, the Company has behaved like a 19^th century mill owner. At no time did they come to BALPA seeking a true partnership approach on how we could work together to make OS a success. It was only ever, this is the way it will be, do not dare to challenge us, we run this company, Oh and if you try to take any sort of action against the company we will bankrupt your union and destroy your ability to enforce your agreements for ever.

 

That is why we have asked you to all come today to show publicly your disgust at the way our managers and so called leadership team are behaving. BA pilots have never publicly demonstrated in this way before, it will send a very powerful message to the public, the board, the leadership team and everyone in BA that the pilots will not simply bend the knee to the bullying tactics of our employer.

 

 

There is no marching band, there are no chants, there are no dancing girls, this is not a celebration, it is showing what the heart of any trade union and professional association is . It is showing unity – it is showing we will not be worn down – is showing we will stick together and it is showing we will win - because we are many.

Dave Smith
Chairman BACC