Summer strikes called off

BRITISH holidaymakers received good news at the weekend with the announcement that security staff at Heathrow Airport had accepted an improved pay offer.

Around 2,000 members of the Unite union had threatened industrial action that was due to start on Saturday, June 24. They were to strike every weekend after that, right through the summer, for a total of 31 days, until August 27. Further negotiations between Unite and Heathrow Airport Limited have now resulted in the workers receiving the offer of an increase of between 15.5 per cent and 17.5 per cent said the union.

The strikes would have involved security staff based in Terminal 3 of the airport facility plus their colleagues who work in Terminal 3. They are responsible for checking airside workers and vehicles entering the facility.

“This was a hard­won victory which demon­ strates what can be achieved when workers stand together and take action together,” insisted Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite, according to a news source on Friday, June 23.

She continued: “The pay deal at Heathrow is a further demonstration of how Unite’s complete focus on jobs, pay and conditions are having direct benefits for its members.”

The decision will come as a massive relief to the hordes of British holidaymakers looking to head abroad this summer. Heathrow Airport is a major international hub and caters for flights to a variety of exotic destinations.

Despite one set of strikes being averted, travellers still face uncertainty over trips to Europe this summer. Air traffic controllers in Italy and France have threatened to down tools over demands for better salaries and working conditions.