Council secures strike-preventing injunction over flawed ballot

East Riding of Yorkshire Council Legal has secured an injunction preventing school staff from striking after arguing the strike ballot failed to comply with the Trade Union & Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

The council argued that the vote conducted by the National Education Union (NEU) breached section 229(2D) of the 1992 Act, which says: "The voting paper must indicate the period or periods within which the industrial action or, as the case may be, each type of industrial action is expected to take place."

The council claimed that the wording of the ballot - "further action will be taken … until the issues are resolved" - did not indicate the period within which action was expected to take place within the meaning of the subsection.

The NEU meanwhile argued that the subsection was sufficiently wide in scope that the wording did comply.

It also contended that the court was entitled to take into account extrinsic information available to NEU's members in reading the ballot paper and that if there was non-compliance, it was de minimis.

Finally, it also argued that there was delay.

Elizabeth Hodgetts of St Phillips Barristers acted for the council.

The NEU was represented by Rebecca Tuck KC, leading Daisy van den Berg of Old Square Chambers.

A statement from St Phillips Barristers said: "The Court upheld Elizabeth's arguments that the meaning of the subsection was plain (and so unambiguous that there was no need to resort to Hansard); the ballot paper did not comply; NEU's evidence had not shown that it was likely that the extrinsic information being relied upon had in fact come to the attention of the members in question; the failing was not de minimis but wholesale, as it affected all ballot papers; and there was no delay: the council had raised the issue as soon as it became aware of it, and had put NEU on notice that if there were notification of further strike action, it would seek the injunction.

"His Lordship refused NEU's application for permission to appeal."

Adam Carey