Unite Union Votes for London Airports Strike

Millions of air travelers may be faced with a huge disruption to their August bank holiday weekend breaks. This comes after Unite, the union, announced on Thursday that the airport workers at the largest airports in the UK have voted in favor of strike action.

The staff, who are employed by the British Airports Authority (BAA) voted on the issue after rejecting changes to working conditions and pay. The airport operator had offered a pay increase of 1% for this year, as well as a conditional 0.5% increase on changes to a sickness deal.

Unite is representative to nearly 66% of the operator’s workforce and says that about 75% of them voted for the walkout. These workers include firemen, security officers and engineers that work across 6 airports – Heathrow, Edinburgh, Stansted, Glasgow, Southampton and Aberdeen. Due to the airports needing a minimum number of workers for their security gates and fire stations, this strike may mean that the airports have to close.

The union said that their officials will meet next Monday to decide on when the industrial action will take place. They have to give a 7-day heads up on the dates, so this means that they will have enough time for the strike to cover the bank holiday weekend at the end of the month. However, both sides still hope for a resolution.

Brendan Gold, the national officer for Unite, said that the BAA is only hurting passengers by letting the dispute get this far. They are calling on the operator to return to the negotiating table so that a fair deal can be made, he added.