Union Members Voting On Labor Actions At Heathrow And Gatwick

A 24-hour strike by more than 4,000 workers at Heathrow due to start Tuesday at 0001 and finish at 2359 was suspended while the workforce voted on an improved pay offer, Unite, Britain and Ireland’s largest union, said Monday.

Unite said it would not be revealing the details of the improved offer until its members involved in the ongoing pay dispute have had an opportunity to consider and vote on the new package. However, Unite said that the strikes already announced for Friday 23 August and Saturday 24 August remained on the table until the result of the ballot was known.

Unite will not be commenting further until its members have considered the improved offer.

Meanwhile security workers at Gatwick Airport are to strike for 48 hours over poverty pay rates which will cause travel disruption this weekend. They are scheduled to strike for 48 hours from 0600 on Saturday 10 August.

More than 130 Unite members working for ICTS (U.K.), who are employed to scan passengers’ luggage for explosive materials and other dangerous and prohibited items , voted by 95 per cent for strike action.

"ICTS workers have an incredibly responsible security role scanning the luggage of every single passenger on every single aeroplane that flies out of Gatwick Airport," said Unite regional officer Jamie Major.

“It is a very security sensitive job to ensure the safety of the travelling public, yet the majority of these workers are paid less than £9 ($10.95) an hour, which is not enough to live on in the expensive south east of England, with its sky high housing costs. Security and safety should be the absolute top priorities and yet these workers feel undervalued, demotivated and fed up of working for an employer that doles out poverty wages.

“It is high time the airport got its priorities right and starts investing in its hardworking staff, instead of paying millions to its shareholders," Major continued. "This ballot result is a clarion call to end poverty pay at Gatwick and demonstrates that for this group of workers: ‘Enough is enough’.

“The strike will mean passengers will inevitably experience delays and a poorer service, but this is now in the hands of ICTS bosses and the management of Gatwick Airport."

According to the union, Gatwick Airport made profits of £148 million ($180 million) in the last financial year an increase of £88 million ($107 million) on the previous 12 months.

(Source: Unite the Union news releases)

FMI: unitetheunion.org