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BALPA vs British Airways – Court of Appeal verdict on the pilot strike delivered at 10.30am

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The Court of Appeal (Civil Decision) has just finished hearing evidence in the case of British Airways plc vs British Airline Pilots’ Association.

This was an appeal against the decision given by Mrs Justice Elisabeth Laing on 23rd July that BALPA’s strike ballot was legal.

The Court will announce its decision at 10.30am on Wednesday.

What are the grounds for appeal?

The crux of the appeal was this – whilst BALPA had provided British Airways with a list of how many pilots, by managerial grade, voted for industrial action, they did not provide this information split by long-haul or short-haul fleets and that BA requires this information to mitigate the impact of the strike.

The law states:

The trade union must take such steps as are reasonably necessary to ensure that—

i)  the lists mentioned in subsection (2A) and the figures mentioned in subsection (2B), together with an explanation of how those figures were arrived at

2A)  The lists are—

(a)  a list of the categories of employee to which the employees concerned belong, and

(b)  a list of the workplaces at which the employees concerned work.

(2B)  The figures are—

(a)  the total number of employees concerned,

(b)  the number of the employees concerned in each of the categories in the list mentioned in subsection (2A)(a), and

(c)  the number of the employees concerned who work at each workplace in the list mentioned in subsection (2A)(b).

Was it enough to list employees by rank (Captain, First Officer) as opposed to fleet?  We’ll find out at 10.30am.

The obvious point to make is that splitting by fleet is fairly meaningless.  An A380 pilot cannot fly a Boeing 747, so BA’s strike planning is not greatly helped by a having long-haul / short-haul split.  With over 90% of the combined fleet voting for strike actions, it is also clear that both fleets must have voted overwhelmingly for action.

The basis for the appeal was, frankly, thin.  On the other hand, it would also not have been difficult for BALPA to provide this information via another tick box on the ballot paper.

What happens next?

If BALPA wins, it may immediately announce a date for strike action.  It could have already announced a date, whilst waiting for the result of the appeal, but decided to give British Airways some breathing space.  Will they now announce a date or will they give BA another chance at arbitration?

My gut feeling is that, if I were BALPA, I would be concerned that this process has dragged on for long enough and it is time to raise the threat level.

If British Airways wins then BALPA will need to organise another ballot.  This takes 28 days – a seven day notice period to the employer that a ballot will take place, followed by a 21 day period for the ballot itself.

A strike itself requires another full 14 days notice, so – if BA wins – you won’t see any strike action until mid September.

If BALPA wins, the earliest date would be either two weeks on Wednesday or two weeks on Thursday, depending on how you define ’14 days notice’.

Let’s see what happens at 10.30am.

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Category

British Airways and Avios

Comments (46)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Ian M says:
    31 Jul31 July 07:29

    If the pilots are unhappy with their pay (which would suggest BA are paying below the market rate), why not seek employment with another airline? Surely BA would soon start offering better pay and conditions if they had a shortage of pilots?

    Or perhaps BA already pay their pilots rather well?

    • Andrew says:
      31 Jul31 July 07:56

      A very naive point of view, trade unions and the right to strike is long enshrined in British history.

      • Ian M says:
        31 Jul31 July 08:17

        @Andrew, I strongly believe in the right to strike, I hope BA lose their appeal today.

        @Evan, no miles and points points in my comment, sure 🙂

    • Evan says:
      31 Jul31 July 08:09

      Pointless comment.

      • TGLoyalty says:
        31 Jul31 July 08:12

        It’s not. It’s a valid point. Lots of pilots would love to work for BA and the pay rise that comes with.

        I don’t know the ins and outs but there are always two sides to these disputes.

    • Bagoly says:
      31 Jul31 July 08:47

      Pilots leaving for better pay seems to have worked at Ryanair in getting those who remained paid better.

      For Short Haul you may well be right that BA already pays pilots more than its competitors, but then the pilots need to live in easy access of Heathrow rather than Stansted, and the former is more expensive.
      For Long Haul there is the complication that BA is effectively a monopsony regarding Pilots who want to live in the UK.

  • Mikeact says:
    31 Jul31 July 08:11

    I know nothing about the pay that pilots receive, apart from what I read in the press. My impression is that it’s very well paid, what with the many perks on top as well.
    However, I’m happy to be corrected .

    • marcw says:
      31 Jul31 July 09:02

      The key issue is that pilots have power. Without pilots, an airline doesn’t work – and nowadays it’s not easy to get more pilots.

    • BJ says:
      31 Jul31 July 09:02

      A friend of a friend who was a first officer on Virgin claimed to be earning a lot more than that, and that’s going back a good 12 years or more.

  • Wade says:
    31 Jul31 July 08:55

    We have LGW-BOD booked on the 15th, on Avios…starting to get worried now!

  • NICK says:
    31 Jul31 July 09:03

    OT: as no bits

    Looking to book a doubletree hilton (twin room) in Russia direct with Hilton.
    We are 2 adults, 2 kids.

    Policy in app states “children stay free in same room as parents up to age 18, subject to availability”

    Question – When I make the booking, can I simply state 2 adults only?

    If I add even 1 kid, the price for same room jumps up. So why make claim that they stay free?

  • Matt B says:
    31 Jul31 July 09:37

    I’m not feeling confident of BA winning, starting to think it was wasnt a waste of money booking a backup easyJet flight.

  • nicka says:
    31 Jul31 July 10:25

    OT: Rate Details HILTON HONORS SALE
    HILTON HONORS MEMBER RATE, JOIN FOR FREE. NO BREAKFAST. FREE WIFI AND POINTS. FULL PREPAYMENT, NO CHANGES OR REFUND.

    If I book this rate direct, as a GOLD, – will I still get the free breakfast, free wifi and any points?

  • andy says:
    31 Jul31 July 10:29

    It’s tense! If Balpa win then my weekend away in late august might be under threat, but if BA win then my longer holiday in mid september is!

  • Harry T says:
    31 Jul31 July 10:57

    OT, as no bits:
    I’m looking to refer my partner for a BAPP. She currently holds the free BA card. If I refer her for a BAPP from my Platinum, will I receive a referral bonus on my Platinum card if Amex upgrade her from free BA to BAPP?

    • eli says:
      31 Jul31 July 11:16

      they clearly told me that I would in this case, but still waiting for the points to credit. holding my breath!

    • Mark2 says:
      31 Jul31 July 13:42

      I would not expect to.

    • Anna says:
      31 Jul31 July 15:06

      You don’t get referral points if the other person is only up or downgrading an account they already hold.

      • Rob says:
        31 Jul31 July 15:56

        Have you tried this? Because it is a new application, I’m not 100% convinced that Amex’s IT is good enough to stop the person doing the referral from getting a bonus. If I were doing this myself, I’d certainly be giving a try – nothing to lose.

        • Harry T says:
          31 Jul31 July 18:01

          Thanks, Rob. I’ll give it a shot when the time comes.

          My partner called to cancel her free BA Card recently and was offered 2 Avios per pound for the next three months to stay, so will look at it after that.

        • BJ says:
          31 Jul31 July 18:05

          Tried it last week, no referral bonus (not self-referral either). However, ISTR comments in the past stating some got lucky so always worth a try.

          • Harry T says:
            31 Jul31 July 20:18

            Thanks for the advice – it’s probably only something I would do if we had spent 10k on the free card and wanted to upgrade to trigger a 241.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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