London:  British Airways flight attendants should be allowed to strike, the court of appeal in London ruled, setting aside a lower court's ruling blocking the walkout.

The union said it won't strike this week.

The Unite union did enough to inform cabin crew members of the results of a strike vote, the three-judge appeal panel ruled.

They overturned a May 17 decision by Judge Richard McCombe of the High Court in London who blocked a walkout saying internet postings of the results weren't sufficient.

"BA cabin members are highly computer literate," Lord Chief Justice Igor Judge, who was on the appeals court panel, said today. "They use the internet on a daily basis."

Prior to the judgment, the airline's 12,000 flight attendants were planning to strike for five days beginning May 18. It was to be the first of four walkouts totalling 20 days. Unite members already held two other strikes over seven days in March that cost the airline £45 million (Dh238.55 million).

Richard Smith, a lawyer at employment consultant Croner said the ruling should help unions in future disputes.

"This is a decision that favours the trade unions and makes it less likely that they'll be called into court for trivial breaches," he said in an interview.

The airline said in a statement it was disappointed in the appeal ruling and may lodge an appeal of its own.

No immediate action

While the union could have started the strike immediately after yesterday's decision, it won't take any action this week, Unite's joint general secretary Derek Simpson said.

Two out of the three judges weighing the case ruled in favour of the union. Igor Judge and Justice Janet Smith, who both sided with the union, said that while Unite disseminated the information to members adequately, it could have done better.

Smith said the part of UK trade union law that British Airways claimed Unite infringed wasn't meant to be used by an employer to stop a strike.

Parliament's intention wasn't to allow a minor infringement to invalidate the strike vote, she said.

"If it were so, the rights of the workers to withhold their labour would be seriously undermined."

Walkout

The union scheduled the walkout after workers rejected the most recent pay and staffing proposals from the airline, Europe's third-biggest. McCombe's decision brought a "premature end" to separate settlement talks between the airline and the union in the 15-month-old dispute, according to Unite.

Anthony Fincham, head of employment law at London law firm CMS Cameron McKenna, said that British Airways could appeal the case to the UK's Supreme Court.

"Out of the four judges that have looked at it, they have been split 2-2," he said, "so it would be nice to have the answer."

Even if the airline had won, it might only have been a short-term victory, he said, as the union would be able to give the airline ‘seven days notice' and organise another strike.