News
Disputes in 2010 - Royal Mail & British Airways
I expect 2010 to be a busy year for Industrial Relations.
2009 saw the re-emergence of disputes in two national icons - Royal Mail and British Airways.
The first is still not settled and BA is on
pause following the airline's successful legal
challenge to the Unite ballot - I would not be
surprised to see a dispute in either company!
2009 saw for the first time in many years an all out dispute with the 'bin men' in Leeds,
which lasted over two months. The issue was
about how to implement equal pay arrangements -
also the cause of a dispute in Brighton. Equal
pay may well be the cause of further disputes in 2010.
As predicted, the passage of closure of defined
benefit pension schemes to existing members has gathered pace - for example, Barclays, IBM, the
airline BMI and Fujitsu, where change is being
met by strike action. Anticipate more through
the year.
There are other reasons why the year might be lively - payback from restraint and pay freezes, merger activity such as the Kraft bid for Cadbury and, after the election, change in the public sector.
This New Year is likely to bring much labour
activity - make sure you plan carefully to
ensure 2010 works for you.
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