A strike by British Airways cabin crew planned for the holidays has been declared illegal in a High Court ruling.

The court agreed with BA that the cabin crew’s union, Unite, had not correctly balloted its members on the strike action.

The injunction means that the 12-day strike cannot proceed.

Unite called it “a disgraceful day for democracy” and vowed to hold a fresh ballot of cabin crew if the dispute with BA was not resolved.

British Airways said the decision would be welcomed by “hundreds of thousands of families in the UK and around the world”.

“There was never any need for a strike and we hope that Unite will take this opportunity to reflect before deciding its next steps,” a statement from the company said.

“In recent days, we believe Unite has formed a better understanding of our position and of the ways in which we could move forward.

“It has also become very clear that our customers do not believe that old-style trade union militancy is relevant to our efforts to move British Airways back toward profitability.”

Unite’s joint general secretaries, Derek Simpson and Tony Woodley said the dispute was “far from settled”.

“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,” they said.

“The fact remains that this dispute is not settled.

“BA must accept that there can be no resolution except through negotiation, failing which there will inevitably be a further ballot for industrial action.”

(Source: BBC)