“Where – (a) an application for an interlocutory injunction is made to a court pending the trial of an action, and (b) the party against whom it is sought claims that he acted in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute, the court shall, in exercising its discretion whether or not to grant the injunction, have regard to the likelihood of that party’s succeeding at the trial of the action in establishing any matter which would afford a defence to the action under section 219 …” (a) an application for an interlocutory injunction is made to a court pending the trial of an action, and (b) the party against whom it is sought claims that he acted in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute, the court shall, in exercising its discretion whether or not to grant the injunction, have regard to the likelihood of that party’s succeeding at the trial of the action in establishing any matter which would afford a defence to the action under section 219 …”
“The statement made by ASLEF tells London Underground nothing whatever about how the database has been compiled or maintained, how it was updated, or how the non-check off figures were derived from it.”
“3. With regard to the Metrobus postal ballot, approximately a month before the ballot commenced it was necessary for me to check membership details, so that members to be balloted could be identified. During this period numerous telephone calls were made between branches so that any queries with regard to the membership list could be dealt with. The membership list confirmed that 776 members paid by check-off and 69 members paid by other means. 4. Once the administration referred to in paragraph 3 above had been finalised, the postal ballot was held and it was successful ”
“…it seems to me that, in principle, it is not unreasonable for a trade union, when supplying information derived from its own sources, to be obliged to say something about how the information supplied has been arrived at. The contrast with check-off employees, for whom the employer can refer to its own payroll records, is clear and legitimate. Paragraph 16 of the 2005 Code of Practice , quoted at para 91 above, illustrates the fact that there may well be a need for some explanation in order that an employer should be able to understand something about the degree of reliability of the data supplied. It also gives advice as to what should be provided by way of an explanation. 111 It is relevant in this context that theEmployment Relations Act 2004 amendments included provisions, at section 226A(2D) and (2E) , and correspondingly in section 234A , which limit the obligation imposed on a union in this respect, by a reasonable practicability criterion and by defining restrictively the information which is deemed for this purpose to be in the possession of the union. The latter, in particular, bears on the obligation to provide an explanation, because it limits the process which has to be undertaken, and therefore has to be explained, to the information so defined, and makes it what might be called a reasonable endeavours process. 112 Assessing the requirement imposed by sections 226A and 234A in this light, and with regard to the particular problem identified in this case, it does not seem to me that the obligation to provide an explanation of the figures, understood as I have explained it, can be said to be unreasonable, excessively onerous or disproportionate. It is not difficult to comply with. In the present case the process described by Sandra Evans in her witness statement is what should have been explained. There are legitimate reasons for requiring an explanation. On the one hand, the employer cannot rely on its own information for non-check-off employees, and can reasonably expect some description of the process undertaken by the trade union to get at the figures, especially given the sort of problems that may exist with union membership records that are alluded to in the 2005 Code of Practice . On the other hand, it is reasonable to require the trade union to explain itself, in order to reinforce the obligation to undertake the process properly in the first place.”
“I do not consider, as Mr. Béar has suggested, that the word ‘audit’ necessarily connotes that a process has been undertaken independently of the RMT. But nonetheless there is no suggestion in the evidence before me that the information in the Ballot Notice, or the Strike Notice for that matter, was in fact subjected to a separate and systematic scrutiny or, indeed, that this occurred even in relation to a sample by way of a spot check. The words used matter, as Lloyd LJ explained in Metrobus , because a union's obligation to explain itself serves a purpose — that is, to reinforce the obligation to undertake the process properly in the first place. 60. In my judgment, the information that was provided by way of explanation is such that Network Rail has a clear case (in addition to the other matters to which I have referred) on this discrete ground that the RMT is unlikely to succeed at trial in bringing itself within this statutory defence. What is an appropriate explanation obviously depends on the context. But I do not regard the information that was provided in the case as a proper explanation for the process that has been undertaken; and it seems to me there is considerable substance in Mr. Béar's submission that the information provided by the RMT and the process it described was a conclusion rather than an explanation.”
“22. We have a branch structure for meetings and democratic matters like elected delegates to our conference. The branch structure is location based. Due to the line based nature of LUL, members are also assigned to lines. 23. The vast majority of ASLEF members in District 8 work for LUL. Our Branches are nearly all one employer, ie LUL branches. This is very different from the situation in Mick Whelan’s district, where there are multi-employer branches … This means that there are rare opportunities for members to be assigned on our membership database or records to the wrong employer. 24. Another important relevant difference between District 8 and other Districts in ASLEF is that historically there has been a two-union presence with RMT also having membership among train operators. Mr Collins says at para 7 of his statement that ASLEF has approximately 55-60% of drivers and I have no reason to challenge his figures. 25. At one time ASLEF’s membership was less than this. What this competition means is that our representatives are acutely aware of maintaining regular checks on membership and are assiduous in checking the returns from head office and also undertaking spot checks to ensure that members are properly assigned to branch and line. 26. It is also important that we properly assign members to lines, as sometimes we have trade disputes which affect only one line. In the past we have had disputes on the Piccadilly and Northern lines, although these have not occurred this year. Obviously the possibility means that we need to spot check our records regularly.”
“Jane Pimlott in our industrial relations department is the contact for LUL and she is the person (rather than Tim Finch who performed a similar role in the London Midland case) who is responsible for taking the steps to ensure that our database is reviewed and then updated, for the purposes of this ballot.”