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ITF welcomes court assertion on the right to take collective action
12 December 2007
The ITF has welcomed an assertion by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) yesterday that the right to take collective action is a fundamental right. The court was hearing the case between Viking Line and the ITF and the Finnish Seamen’s Union (FSU) in a long-running legal battle.
The case was referred to the ECJ after the ITF appealed a decision by the London Commercial Court which sought to prevent the ITF and FSU from taking industrial action to protect the jobs of the crew on board Viking's vessel, the Rosella. The London Commercial Court considered that this would hinder the company’s “fundamental right of establishment and freedom to provide services”.
In a statement released yesterday, ITF General Secretary David Cockroft said: “We welcome the Court’s assertion that the right to take collective action - including the right to strike - is a fundamental right which forms an integral part of the general principles of Community law.”
“As particularly laid out in paragraphs 43, 44 and 77 of its judgement the Court has indicated that the right to take collective action for the protection of workers is a legitimate interest which, in principle, justifies a restriction of one of the free movement rights.”
He continued: “The devil’s in the detail and it’s now up to the Court of Appeal to apply this guidance to the particular facts of this case.”
He concluded: “Challenging the Commercial Court’s complete negation of fundamental trade union rights has been a long, expensive and arduous process for us but this decision proves that we were right to do so.”
The ECJ’s findings will now be sent back to the Court of Appeal, which will have to apply them to the facts to deliver a final outcome in the dispute.
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