Why unions and employers need to tread warily around industrial action

Proposed cost-cutting measures led British Airways’ union Unite to resort to strike action at the end of last year. The union planned a 12-day strike over Christmas to apply the maximum pressure

Any union calling for industrial action has to follow carefully a detailed procedure in the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. If the procedure is not followed correctly, the employer will be able to seek legal redress for any damage caused to its business by the proposed action, or even prevent it going ahead.
 

Language does not simply reflect what is going on in organisational life: it also influences what people think and what they do

Linda Holbeche, director of the Holbeche Partnership and visiting professor of HRM/OD at Cass Business School