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

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:

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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