Why BT Ballot was pulled

Dear Colleague

  There have been a number of questions about why the pay ballot was withdrawn, and why we have not released the ballot result.
  In response to the first question, BT challenged some of the information provided by the union in our Notice of Ballot as being insufficient in meeting the requirements of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.
  The CWU provided BT with the best information we had available to us and we remain convinced that it was adequate for the purposes required in law. However, the legal advice we received indicated that if BT served an injunction against the ballot, we would be unlikely to succeed in court because of the restrictive nature of the legislation. Rather than enter into a lengthy and expensive litigation process that is not in our favour, the union has taken the decision to make preparations for a fresh Notice of ballot. However, we have also taken the decision that before another Notice is served, we will meet with BT negotiators to see if a resolution to the pay dispute is possible.
  A ballot result has not been released because the ballot was cancelled before it closed and therefore the appointed independent scrutineer will not be issuing a ballot result.

Yours sincerely,

Andy Kerr
Deputy General Secretary (TFS)