Bank holiday strike at Gatwick airport

[August 15th 2008]

Gatwick airport faces travel disruption on August Bank Holiday Monday as baggage handlers and check in staff have voted for strike action.

Employees of Swissport at Gatwick who are members of the Unite union are set to strike after rejecting a pay rise of 3%. The 24 hour airport strike on Bank Holiday Monday will be followed by another 24 hour walkout on Friday August 29th unless a settlement is reached.

And the strike could spread to other airports in the UK. Unite members working for Swissport at Stansted Airport are to be balloted over strike action later today. Next week workers at Manchester, Birmingham and Newcastle airports are also expected to be balloted.

Among the airlines whose flights could be affected by strike action at Gatwick are Virgin Atlantic, North West Airlines, Air Malta, First Choice, Thomsonfly and Monarch.

There was an overwhelming vote in favour of striking at Gatwick airport, as 72% of the 300 plus Unite members backed the action. It seems likely that workers at the other airports will also vote in favour of a strike, which could lead to widespread airport chaos.

"Our members are already struggling to keep up with rising food and energy costs. This pay offer is an insult to professional, hard working men and women who have to operate in extremely difficult conditions," said Unite union national officer, Steve Turner.

"Our members have had enough. The liberalisation of ground handling services across UK airports has resulted in a race to the bottom which must and will stop. We will not stand back and allow labour costs to determine whether contracts are won or lost," Turner added.

Stansted airport is also threatened by strike action by baggage screening staff. The workers are employed by Airfield Services and are members of the GMB union. They are asking for a 5% pay rise but have only been offered 1.5%.

Written by: Nick Purdom

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