Heathrow safety guards stage recent strike over pay
S
ecurity guards at Heathrow Airport will launch a three-day strike on Thursday in a dispute over pay.
Members of Unite have already held 15 days of business motion, together with over the busy Easter interval.
Heathrow mentioned it has contingency plans in place to maintain the airport open and working as traditional, including that passengers can count on to have a “smooth” half-term getaway.
The 15 days of strike motion over the Easter peak and coronation weekends have had no influence on the sleek operating of the airport, and passengers haven’t observed any distinction from the conventional nice service they count on at Heathrow
Heathrow chief govt John Holland-Kaye mentioned: “Passengers should not be concerned about strike action by Unite over the half-term getaway.
“The 15 days of strike action over the Easter peak and coronation weekends have had no impact on the smooth running of the airport, and passengers have not noticed any difference from the normal great service they expect at Heathrow.
“These strikes are completely unnecessary. When I speak to colleagues the overwhelming message is that they just want to vote on our pay offer, but Unite won’t let them.
“We made a generous 10% offer early on, to make sure colleagues got a substantial increase when they needed it most. Unite’s delays mean non-union colleagues, as well as the majority of colleagues who are union members, who voted to accept our previous offer are losing out.”
May half-term is at all times a really busy time for journey, and Heathrow mentioned it might take a little bit longer than traditional to get by safety, however added this will probably be “well-managed and kept flowing”.
Unite mentioned Heathrow safety officers are paid lower than employees at different main airports in London and the South East.
Heathrow frequently trumpets how profitable it’s because the UK’s premium airport so there is no such thing as a defence in it paying discount basement wages
Regional co-ordinating officer Wayne King mentioned: “There is absolutely no justification for security officers at Heathrow being paid far less than comparable officers at other London airports.
“Heathrow regularly trumpets how successful it is as the UK’s premium airport so there is no defence in it paying bargain basement wages.
“Heathrow can clearly meet a cost-of-living increase for our members; they’re deliberately choosing not to, pushing our members deeper into financial difficulties.”
Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel, mentioned: “While it is positive to see Heathrow has put contingency plans in place to minimise disruption during the forthcoming strike action, those with flights booked over half term will no doubt still have concerns that their trips could be impacted.
“It’s essential that airlines and airports work together to keep travellers updated during this period of industrial action, and fulfil their legal obligations to passengers in the event of cancellations or delays.
“Travellers should also ensure they have travel insurance from the date they book their trip and always check the policy carefully, to ensure it covers all the eventualities you would expect – in particular, not all policies will cover travellers in the event of strikes by airline or airport staff, for example.”