The latest in aviation and industrial news from around the world A win for trade union rights READ MORE Executive Presidents welcome BALPA members employed by Ryanair have won an important hearing at the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) on all counts in a case that reinforces the rights of trade union members across all sectors. Read the full blog. The overall legal proceedings remain ongoing, with the main employment tribunal hearing scheduled for May 2022. The Employment Appeal Tribunal came about after Ryanair pilots took part in a strike, called by BALPA, in 2019. Ryanair issued a threat that those who participated in strike action would have their concessionary travel benefits withdrawn. In what pilots argue was retaliatory conduct, Ryanair acted on its threat to penalise members for exercising their right to participate in a strike called by BALPA, and withdrew travel concessions for 12 months for those who went on strike. With BALPAs support, the affected pilots complained that Ryanairs retaliatory conduct amounted to an actionable detriment for members having participated in lawful trade union activities, and that Ryanair had created a blacklist in breach of the Blacklisting Regulations. The tribunal ruled in favour of the pilots on this issue. Ryanair appealed against the decision to the Employment Appeal Tribunal. After a two-day hearing, the EAT rejected each of Ryanairs grounds of appeal, finding in the pilots favour on all issues. The judgment of the EAT is of importance to the industrial relations landscape. It sends a clear message to employers that they should not subject their workers to unlawful detriment as a result of participating in strike action. BALPA in Westminster BALPA has been busy in Westminster since the election of our new General Secretary, Martin Chalk, introducing him and taking our key needs of Government to influential people from across the political spectrum. We should be a key part of the Governments plans to revitalise our industry, be consulted on decarbonisation efforts including through the Jet Zero Council and, of course, be involved in negotiations and discussions about EU licences. Most recently, Martin has met the Chair of the Transport Select Committee, Huw Merriman, whose committee is currently holding an inquiry into the recovery of the UK aviation sector. We also met the Shadow Aviation Minister, Mike Kane, and will be meeting the Aviation Minister, Robert Courts MP, in the new year. With the focus now on recovery, now is the time for BALPA and its members to have a greater influence in the full breadth of parliamentary work. READ MORE Executive Presidents welcome Weve come a long way in the past 12 months, but thats easy to forget against the apparently endless backdrop of COVID. The industry continues to plan optimistically for a busy summer 2022. We even see the prospect of some recruitment to at least address the anticipated temporary shortage in crew numbers. Its almost impossible to predict the level of growth or permanence, especially set against the backdrop of the latest Omicron restrictions. Im going to dare to predict a more prosperous 2022. Thats perhaps not difficult, given what weve already endured. BALPA has adapted well to new ways of working. Weve become more efficient while still providing high levels of membership service. While continuing to assist our members in need through the Redundancy Assistance and MACS teams, we have also been busy on many other fronts. Our flight safety team is working hard on many issues, including post-Brexit licensing and scheduling variations. Our communications team is busy raising our profile, having had notable success last summer around the Travel Day of Action. Our legal team has had considerable success this year including a groundbreaking victory on our Pension Protection Fund claim, and a recent win on blacklisting. Our industrial team has not only saved hundreds of jobs, but also successfully negotiated pay rises in the helicopter sector. These are just snippets of our recent activity, during which time we also recruited and elected a new general secretary. We are in good shape as an association, largely thanks to the considerable efforts of our staff and reps, who have adapted admirably to significant challenges. 2022 will see us transition to new premises, with upgraded IT; we also have website improvements in the pipeline. We will continue to improve our membership offering, while living within our means. The pandemic has taught us all that we are a resilient bunch and can deliver beyond expectation when challenged. That leaves me with a good degree of confidence that we will return to the membership levels we previously enjoyed, and get our grounded colleagues back into the skies. Roll on 2022. Safe flying, Paul Naylor, BALPA NEC Executive President and easyJet captain NEWS Upfront