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Picketing
[ch 9: pages 256-258]Under section 220 of TULRCA, workers “in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute” can lawfully picket at or near their place of work, provided that the purpose is only peacefully to obtain or communicate information, or persuade any person not to work.
But, as is the case with industrial action, the immunities only protect them from being sued for breach of contract. They do not provide protection for activities like trespass, or from action under criminal law (see below). If workers are not able to picket immediately in front of their workplace, the requirement that it is “at or near” allows some leeway:
Workers dismissed by a company sited on a trading estate were unable to picket their own workplace so they mounted a picket on the entrance to the estate. The Court of Appeal ruled that this was “at or near” their place of work since it was the nearest the pickets could get to their place of work without committing a trespass.
Rayware v TGWU [1989] IRLR 134
Union officials representing members can picket their members’ place of work. Those working from a number of different locations can lawfully picket any work location or alternatively their work headquarters, as long as they have actually worked from those different locations. Merely “occasional ports of call” would not be regarded as the individual’s place of work (Union Traffic v TGWU [1989] IRLR 127). Workers dismissed while on strike have a continuing right to picket lawfully at their former place of work.
Secondary picketing — picketing at a workplace which is not the members’ place of work — is not protected by the immunities. Secondary picketing is unlawful.
The law does not state how many can picket. Often the police try to limit it to six, but they should issue a warning to this effect. This figure comes from the BIS Code of Practice: Picketing, which says: “Pickets and their organisers should ensure that in general the number of pickets does not exceed six at any entrance to, or exit from, a workplace; frequently a smaller number will be appropriate.” Although the code is only advisory, a 1985 case gave police additional support in attempts to reduce numbers to six:
During the 1984-85 miners’ strike, pickets were posted at a pit in South Wales. Although six pickets stood outside the colliery gates, about 60 demonstrated across the road. The court ruled that the mass demonstration was a common law nuisance.
Thomas v South Wales NUM [1985] IRLR 136
In the 2005 Gate Gourmet dispute, the court granted an injunction to limit pickets outside the company’s offices but not at other locations:
The High Court granted an injunction limiting the number of pickets outside Gate Gourmet’s Heathrow offices to six and limiting picketing so that the workers could not approach employees going to and from work. However, it refused a request to limit the number of pickets near the entrance to the nearby Gate Gourmet plant at Beacon Hill.
The injunction was made against the union as well as individuals because, although there had been no ballot, union officials were present at the pickets and aware of what was going on, and the union had not repudiated (disowned) the action.
Gate Gourmet London Ltd v TGWU [2005] IRLR 881
Pickets are more likely to face the criminal law (see below) than to have their picket declared outside the protection of section 220. The criminal law is operated by the police and usually involves offences of obstruction or breach of the peace. However, in most cases, picketing takes place without the intervention of the law.