The union has let its members down very badly indeed on the whole ST issue.
Not only should they have not promised that it would be returned “within 5 minutes” they should have actively advised those members who rely on ST to maintain their jobs (homes, marriages etc) to break the strike. As odd as that may seem it would have been the responsible thing for them to have done.
By all means they could have shouted to anyone that would listen about how members were being prevented from striking as a result, a position which I would have had to agree with to a point.
I still don’t support the principle of removing perks from strikers, it just seems wrong on many levels. I worry about more callus employers following the lead and converting all sorts of contractual rights into perks so as to allow their selective removal at the drop of a hat.
This is also the reason that I don’t think Unite would be wise to challenge it in court, a loss would legitimise the tactic.