On the 18th September 2023, the National Labour Court of Madrid, the AUD.NACIONAL SALA DE LO SOCIAL MADRID (SUD), delivered its long awaited verdict in relation to the complaint submitted by the IAG European Works Council against IAG management, on its failure to inform and consult the EWC on its proposal to dismiss over 12,000 employees in its British Airways and Aer Lingus operations, back in 2020.
The case had been pending for over three years due to the SUD declaring at the original hearing that it did not have the competence to hear the case. This decision was subsequently appeal at the Supreme Court, who overruled the original decision and made a declaration stating that the SUD did in fact have the competence to hear the case.
During the hearing held on the 12th September, the Lawyer acting on behalf of the IAG EWC argued that the decision made by the IAG group to dismiss 12 000 workers at British Airways and 500 at Aer Lingus, required the opening of a process of information and consultation with the European Works Council of IAG, which was not carried out. He further argued that this breached the provisions of the Community Directive Law 10/97 and the agreement establishing the EWC at IAG.
The company on the other had tried to argue that not only was the original decision to dismiss the workers not ‘transnational’ as prescribed in the IAG EWC agreement and the Directive, but that the IAG EWC had no standing in bringing the dispute at the present time, given that the dismissals in question took place three years ago, and therefore there was no real and direct interest today.
In its conclusion and verdict, the court confirmed that IAG had broken the law and declared that:
‘We declare that the restructuring measures initiated in BRITISH AIRWAYS and AER LINGUS of the IAG GROUP are considered to be transnational in the terms defined in the Agreement establishing the European Works Council of IAG and consequently the defendant INTERNATIONAL CONSOLIDATED AIRLINES GROUP S.A. is obliged to inform the European Works Council, in accordance with the provisions of the agreement establishing that body, and is therefore ordered to comply with this declaration.’
Isabelle Schomann, the ETUC Deputy General Secretary stated, ‘while this is obviously an important and positive decision in favour of the IAG EWC, it will provide little comfort to those 12,000 workers who lost their jobs 3 years ago.’ She further stated that, ‘this demonstrates why we fundamentally need a revision of the directive and it also supports the ETUC’s demands for effective and dissuasive enforcement provisions to be put in place.’
Jonathan Hayward, the European Transport Federation (ETF) appointed IAG EWC Trade Union coordinator added; ‘Throughout this long and arduous legal battle the IAG EWC has had constant support from UNITE the Union and the Spanish Unions CC.OO and UGT. It is alarming and outrageous to imagine just how many companies are out there that are blatantly ignoring their legal obligations to inform and consult, just because their EWC don’t have the political, legal and financial support to hold them to account and challenge them in court.’
The ETUC hope that this judgement will demonstrate to the European Commission why a revision of the EWC Directive is urgently needed and why they need to not only strength the enforcement of the directive but fundamentally make it easier and simpler for EWC’s to take companies to court when they fail to inform and consult.
Under Spanish law the decision can be appealed.
Written by Jonathan Hayward, UNITE