Airport Struggles

by New Worker correspondent

Unite the union have scored a victory in a pay battle involving hundreds of baggage handlers and check-in staff employed by GH London (formally Azzurra) at London’s Heathrow Airport. They have secured a 9.1 per cent pay increase after workers overwhelmingly backed strike action in a dispute over low pay.

This April over 300 workers at Heathrow’s Terminals 2 and 4 overwhelmingly voted by 99.2 per cent to take strike action. Workers were angry at a series of pay freezes but a strike was avoided after constructive negotiations concluded with an agreement to award workers a 9.1 per cent increase, including 6.1 per cent for 2017 and 2018 on top of a three per cent increase for 2019.

Kevin Hall, Unite regional officer, said: “The overwhelming vote for strike action was proof that workers at Heathrow had had enough of year on year pay freezes. There was a lot of anger but more and more workers joined Unite and were able to demand an end to the pay injustice. Once constructive talks got underway the workers’ representatives negotiated a 9.1 per cent pay deal. We’re pleased that GH London is now recognising its workers’ contribution with a significant pay increase.”

Industrial action is also likely to take place at Glasgow Airport. Last Friday Unite announced that a four-hour stoppage on 14^th June, between 4am–8am, would be added to action already scheduled at the airport.

This time the issue is pensions. Ninety-five per cent of its members voted in favour in April, on a turnout of 75 per cent, for strike action over spring and summer after the airport decided to close the final salary pension scheme.

Unite claimed that the boss’s (AGS Airports Ltd) decision to close the pension scheme broke a 2016 Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) agreement.

Planned industrial action last month was suspended after “progressive talks” that saw the company table a pay offer of three per cent for Aberdeen and Glasgow staff.

Pat McIlvogue, Unite’s regional industrial officer, said: “Unite has in response to Glasgow Airport withdrawing from the negotiations over the pension scheme added a further stoppage.

“It’s bewildering why AGS management seem determined to escalate this dispute. Unite entered talks in an effort to resolve this dispute and we remain willing to talk.

But AGS claim “We made a significant improvement on our initial pay offer, which was increased from 1.8 to three per cent in line with demands.