Fighting Back: resisting ‘union-busting’ and ‘strike-breaking’ in the British Airways dispute (IER.org.uk)
December 8, 2011
By Prof Keith Ewing
Published in September 2011
The story of this publication relates to a dispute that had huge implications for UNITE and BASSA members whose lives were turned upside down by the demands of the employer.
But the nature of the dispute and the conduct of BA also have massive implications for british trade unionism generally.
The main problem highlighted by the dispute is the extent to which the law is tilted so heavily in favour of employers. Quite apart from the alleged union-busting and strike breaking activities of the employer, the disupte vividly illustrates the extent to which employers generally are supported by law when forcing through changes, and supported by law when the union tries to mobilise resistance to these changes.
Having exposed the limitations of British labour law, this dispute, argues the author, should now provide a launch-pad for its reform.