Working to rule
[ch 1: page 10]“Working to rule”, where a union instructs members to perform their express contract terms to the letter in order to frustrate the employer’s business, is a form of industrial action. So is a “go-slow”. In the leading case of Secretary of State for Employment v ASLEF (No.2) [1972] 2 QB 455, drivers were found to be engaged in IASS when they followed the union’s call to comply with the rule book to the letter, for example taking so long to check the engine, or opening and closing every door to check for safety, that the system ground to a halt. This, ruled the Court of Appeal, was a breach of the workers’ implied duty of good faith when carrying out their express contractual duties. What made the drivers’ actions unlawful was their motive when performing their contractual duties, which was to cause disruption so as to improve their negotiating position with the employer.