Blacklisting Regulations: A New Protective Tool for Workers Taking Part in Industrial Action—<i>Morais v Ryanair</i>

<p dir="ltr">The case of <i>Benjamin Morais and others v Ryanair DAC</i><a target="_blank">¹</a> concerned pilots who were subject to a detriment for taking part in industrial action. There are two aspects of particular interest in this case. First, the case highlights the lack of protection for union members who are subject to a detriment when taking part in industrial action under the traditional legal framework of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULRCA). In that respect, <i>Morais</i> follows the recent case of <i>Mercer</i><a target="_blank">²</a>, which considered that industrial action was not covered under sections 146 and 152 TULRCA. This lack of protection has been controversial; indeed, in <i>Mercer,</i> the Supreme Court issued a declaration of incompatibility between UK law and Article 11 ECHR (freedom of association) on the basis of the lack of protection provided by UK law for striking employees. Second, <i>Morais</i> considers the possibility of using the Employment Relations Act 1999 (Blacklists) Regulations 2010<a target="_blank">³</a> (thereafter Blacklisting Regulations) to fill the gap left by the <i>Mercer</i> case and the lack of protection provided under TULRCA. [Introduction]</p>