When do trade unions enjoy immunity?
For industrial action to be lawful there must be a ‘trade dispute’ i.e. it must be a dispute between workers and their own employer and it must be wholly concerned about employment related matters, for example pay, working conditions, jobs, discipline and so on. The definition of “trade dispute” does not cover disputes: between groups of workers or between trade unions, where no employer is involved in the dispute; between workers and an employer other than their own employer; between a trade union and an employer, where none of that employer’s workforce are in dispute with him. Secondary action encompasses picketing by non-employees, picketing of connected businesses, such as suppliers and sympathetic strikes by employees who are not in dispute with their own employer. Secondary action is not protected and those involved can be sued or prosecuted for damages. Are there any other requirements? A strike ballot should not take place until any agreed procedures have been completed and all
