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British Airways
allegedly accessed the private emails and phone messages of 10 members
of staff, some of whom were union officials, in 2011 when it faced
renewed industrial action. Above, file image
British
Airways has denied claims that it paid £1million to staff after it was
reported the airline used specialist investigators to spy on cabin crew
during a dispute with Unite over strikes.
The
airline allegedly accessed the private emails and phone messages of 10
members of staff, some of whom were union officials, in 2011 when it
faced renewed industrial action.
The
compensation payment is said to have been made to stop the union suing
BA over the alleged surveillance - keeping details of the operation out
of court.
The
claims were made in The Independent today based on information and
documents that have not been seen by MailOnline. They have been
categorically denied by the airline.
In
January 2011, just months after Len McCluskey was named the new head of
Unite, British Airways cabin crew voted in favour of strikes.
They were later halted after the airline successfully argued union members had not followed ballot procedures.
It
was part of an ongoing legal dispute that had started two years
previously when BA announced plans to cut staffing levels on jumbo jet
flights in a bid to save £63million a year.
While the
airline and the union reached an agreement in principle, the dispute
became bogged down in knock-on issues about suspension of striking staff
and loss of cheap travel perks.
It
was in January 2011 that British Airways investigators are believed to
have started accessing employees' communication, according to The Independent.
The
airline's team of in-house investigators, based at Heathrow, was
officially set up to improve passenger safety and security, the
newspaper reported.
But Unite claimed investigators used their skills to improperly access communication of its representatives at BA.
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Unite's vote to take strike action in
2011 was part of an ongoing legal dispute with British Airways that had
started two years previously. Above, passengers affected by cabin crew
strikes in 2010
Some of the details uncovered by investigators were described to The Independent as being 'highly personal'.
Unite,
Britain's biggest union, instructed Daniel Taylor, founder of Taylor
Hampton Solicitors, to represent members of staff who it claimed had
been targeted by their employer.
BA
maintained that as it owned the mobile phones and computers owned by
many of its staff, it had been acting within the law when it took the
decision to 'monitor' communications of some staff.
Mr
Taylor is understood to have come close to an out-of-court settlement
for his client, but he was reportedly dismissed and the Union completed
the final stages of negotiations with BA itself.
He subsequently decided to sue the former client over unpaid fees.
Invoices
included in documents filed at the High Court are understood to relate
to members of BA staff whose communications were allegedly accessed in
2011, according to The Independent.
Mr
Taylor told the newspaper that he had taken the action against Unite
'with a great deal of regret' but was prevented by a confidentiality
agreement from discussing further details.
A
spokeswoman for British Airways told MailOnline: 'We can state
categorically that we have never illegally accessed any telephones or
emails of Unite representatives.'
Unite told MailOnline: 'Unite dealt with Taylor Hampton over a variety of member matters.
'The
subsequent dispute with Taylor Hampton over justifiable fees is just
one of the things that arise in the normal course of business and has
since been resolved to Unite’s satisfaction.'
Taylor Hampton has been contacted by MailOnline for comment.