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The Court of Appeal today rejected a union appeal against an injunction preventing Royal Mail staff striking in the run up to Christmas.
Royal Mail had secured an injunction earlier this month, ruling that the Communication Workers Union’s (CWU) postal ballot for strike action had been unlawful and ruling out any industrial action before a further ballot had taken place.
Read more: Royal Mail wins High Court injunction to prevent Christmas postal strikes
Members had voted to support the walkout by roughly 97 per cent on a turnout of nearly 76 per cent, sparking what was set to be Royal Mail’s first national postal strike in a decade.
Royal Mail’s managing director of regulation and corporate affairs Shane O’Riordain said: “Royal Mail is pleased that the Court of Appeal has upheld the High Court’s decision to grant an interim injunction against CWU meaning that no industrial action can be taken before the completion of a lawful ballot.”
The CWU tweeted: “We have just left the High Court. Our appeal was dismissed. Six hours of evidence and they took two minutes to come to a decision.
Read more: I would kill to be CEO of… Royal Mail
“The justice system in this country is an absolute farce.”
O’Riordain added: “We did not take the decision to go to the High Court lightly. We sought to reach resolution outside the courts. It is vital that our colleagues are able to vote without any constraint imposed upon them by any other party.
“We want to reach agreement. As previously announced, we have written to CWU to say we want to enter into discussions without preconditions. Following this offer, we are hopeful that we can now follow on with meaningful discussions with the union to resolve this dispute.”
The CWU was contacted for comment.
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