The British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA), the union which represents British pilots has won a landmark case against Ryanair’s practice of blacklisting pilots who took part in the strikes in 2019.
Ryanair used this blacklist to withdraw perks such as travel benefits to pilots who exercised their right to strike which the Court of Appeal says constituted a breach of the Blacklisting Regulations.
The case was brought as Ryanair used this blacklist to effectively punish pilots who took part in the strikes removing their travel benefits for up to 12 months.
BALPA General Secretary, Amy Leversidge said: “This is a huge win for BALPA and the trade union movement more generally which could not have been achieved without the bravery of the pilots involved and the wider support of the BALPA membership. Thankfully the Court’s decision will put a stop to employers making lists of striking employees in order to punish them and we hope that this judgment will make employers think twice before relying on other harmful strike-busting tactics in the aviation sector and beyond.
“As we have said time and time again, BALPA always prefers to work in partnership with employers to avoid protracted legal battles, but this shows that we will never fail to stand with our members to protect their rights in situations such as this.”
The judgement has wider significance for trade unions as it reinforces the principle that workers have the right to organise and engage in lawful strikes.
Alice Yandle from Farrer & Co, which represented BALPA, added: “We were very proud to support BALPA and its members in achieving such a significant legal victory in the Court of Appeal which raises points of such a fundamental importance in industrial relations law. The judgment is emphatic in its acceptance of all the arguments we advanced and has confirmed that the Blacklisting Regulations prohibit employers from compiling a list of trade union members who have gone on strike in order to discriminate against them.”
