THE Court of Appeal has overturned a ruling that granted an injunction to stop a strike on the DLR.

The industrial action was cancelled earlier this year after a court questioned the figures provided by the RMT union.

DLR operator Serco Docklands successfully prevented the 48-hour walkout after failing to come to an agreement with the union over a dispute on jobs and working practices.

The injunction was the latest in an increasing trend for strikes to be prevented by employers taking out legal action.

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow today claimed the tide will now turn back in favour of workers who have voted to take industrial action.

“This morning’s judgment is not only a victory for staff on Serco Docklands and RMT’s 80,000 members but it is also a massive victory for the seven million trade unionists in the UK,” he said.

“The Serco Docklands injunction on balloting process would have taken the anti-union laws in this country to within a whisker of effectively banning the right to strike if it had been allowed to stand.”

Despite the decision by the Court of Appeal, DLR operators are still hopeful of preventing any future strikes.

David Stretch, Managing Director of Serco Docklands, said: “We are disappointed that the injunction has been overturned. Irrespective of the legal process we have continued to work with the union and have made significant progress on all of the remaining issues.

“We have further meetings planned to continue this process and believe we are in a position to avoid any unnecessary action which would cause disruption to our passengers.”