Southern Rail Fails To Obtain Injunction To Prevent Strike

Southern Rail's parent company has failed in an attempt to obtain an injunction preventing strikes led by ASLEF by relying on breaches of freedom of movement principles under the Treaty for the Functioning of the EU (TFEU).

Govia GTR Railway is the franchise-holder for Southern Rail. ASLEF has disputed Govia's plans to extend the use of driver-only operated trains, arguing that the new system for closing doors is less safe and more stressful for drivers. As a result, ASLEF announced a series of strikes in December 2016 and January 2017.

Govia applied to the High Court seeking an injunction to prevent the strikes from going ahead. Govia argued that the planned industrial action was unlawful on the basis that it interfered with the rights to freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services under the TFEU.

The Court of Appeal upheld the High Court's decision to reject the application for an injunction. The Court did not accept Govia's argument that the strikes were a deterrent to the freedom of establishment - whilst industrial action may discourage Govia's French investors from doing further business, the law is not there to protect against that. Any strike, even if legal, could arguably have the same effect.

The Court also found that Govia was "free-wheeling in the slip stream of...