Airport strikes to hit Stansted
[September 12th 2008]
Stansted airport will be hit by three days of strike action later this month after baggage screening workers rejected a new pay offer.
The Stansted airport strikes are set to take place on September 19th, 22nd and 25th. The strike is by employees of aviation services company Airfield Services who are members of the GMB union.
Stansted was hit by a strike on August Bank Holiday Monday when the baggage screening workers rejected a previous offer and Airfield Services declined an invitation from GMB and aiport operator to go to the independent conciliation service ACAS to seek a resolution to the dispute. Another strike planned for August 29th was called off after Airfield Services said it would make an improved pay offer.
Having originally offered a pay rise of 1.5%, Airfield Services has now come back with an offer of 2%. GMB members have voted by 90% to reject this new offer.
“It was not a surprise that GMB members who had rejected an insulting 1.5% pay offer should reject an ‘improved’ offer of 2%. The resulting three days of strike action will demonstrate to Airfield Services that these workers expect a proper pay rise and are willing to fight for it,” comments GMB organiser, Gary Pearce.
The GMB union claims that Airfield Services used catering staff to do the jobs of the baggage screening staff on the last strike day on Bank Holiday Monday. It has written to the Secretary of State for Transport about the matter and the impact on security standards at Stansted.
Because other workers were used to do the jobs of the baggage screening staff the last strike had little impact on services at Stansted. The 33 workers involved in the strike operate security scanning equipment to check luggage going into the holds of planes for airlines flying from Stansted including easyJet and Ryanair.
Whether the baggage screening strike has more impact at Stansted on the next three strike days remains to be seen and will depend on how Airfield Services plans to cover the jobs of the striking workers. The GMB members have asked for a pay rise of 5%, which equates to 21p per hour.
Written by: Nick Purdom
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