Strike blocked
December 17, 2009
Five days before a strike by British Airways cabin crew was scheduled to begin, a judge at London's High Court backed the airline's complaint that the vote held by the crew workers to strike was invalid.
The court indicated that the workers' ballot contained irregularities and had included workers who had either left or were in the process of leaving the company.
Originally, around 10,000 British Airways cabin crew participated in the vote and around 92.5 percent approved the strike.
"We are delighted for our customers that the threat of a Christmas strike has been lifted by the court," the airline said in a statement. "It is a decision that will be welcomed by hundreds of thousands of families in the UK and around the world."
Britain's biggest trade union, Unite, conducted the ballot, and expressed disappointment over the court's decision.
"While we have never wanted this dispute, it is a disgraceful day for democracy when a court can overrule such an overwhelming decision by employees taken in a secret ballot," the union said in a statement.
mz/AFP/DPA/Reuters
Editor: Kyle James