Court of Appeal
An appeal by a respondent from the decision of Gage J to grant an injunction to prevent a strike ballot from taking place. The plaintiff ("ICWC") operated trains from Manchester Piccadilly Station. Other train services were operated from the station by North West Regional Railways Ltd ('NWRR'). Both companies were wholly owned subsidiaries of the British Railways Board. There was an industrial dispute between ICWC and the respondent ('RMT') who sought to ballot its members. The majority supported a strike. RMT warned that strike might be unlawful because it contravened the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 in that, although all members of the respondent, ICWC staff should have been balloted separately from NWRR staff, and so proceedings were brought. Gage J found that there was a strong case for saying that the two groups of workers were not working in the same place of work for the purposes of s.288 of the Act, and granted an injunction, but stayed its operation until the matter had been heard by the Court of Appeal.
[1996] IRLR 583
