Injunction granted
The High Court has today ruled that CWU’s ballot for industrial action was unlawful.
No industrial action can be taken before (1), a lawful ballot in favour of industrial action has been completed, and (2), we have been given formal notification of any action.
Taking action
We did not take the decision to go to the court lightly. We sought to reach resolution outside the courts.
We asked CWU to confirm it would not take industrial action, based on clear evidence of planned and orchestrated breaches by CWU officials of their legal obligations. CWU declined to do so. We then had no option but to resort to legal action.
Honouring our agreements
We are honouring our agreements. For example, we have delivered:
- Two pay rises worth 7%
- The first hour of the Shorter Working Week
- Joint culture visits.
We stand ready to invest £1.8 billion to break the cycle of decline and grow the UK business.
Working with CWU
We stand ready to engage with the CWU. If the union provides a binding commitment to remove the threat of strike action for the rest of 2019, we will enter into discussions without preconditions. A binding commitment from the CWU to remove the threat of strike action during the period of any general election is vital.
This injunction does not apply to employees within Parcelforce Worldwide. Its employees are the subject of separate ballot notices.
An RMtv Special will be available to watch tomorrow.
