‘It’s unacceptable and totally undemocratic. We are having security decided by the private sector with no reference to parliament,’ Sharon Holder, GMB national officer, told News Line yesterday.
She was speaking in response to British Airways’ announcement that all passengers, both international and domestic, using Terminal 5 when it opens, will be subject to mandatory fingerprinting and biometric checks.
Holder said: ‘Although there is no compulsory scheme for the UK public, clearly the airlines have taken security into their own hands.
‘Anybody travelling in or out of Britain will be subject to compulsory biometric checks.
‘No one was told about this when Terminal 5 was being built.
‘I think there will be comments made by the unions on the matter.’
The excuse given by BA is that because of the building’s design, both domestic and international passengers share the same departure lounges and public areas.
There are concerns that the scheme will rapidly be extended to Heathrow’s Terminal 1, Gatwick and Manchester airports, which also have mixed departure lounges.
‘We don’t want to see our members penalised,’ said the UNITE (TGWU) trade union.
A Unite TGWU spokesman told News Line yesterday: ‘BA is no doubt acting in line with international standards for passenger security.
‘The issue for security staff and Terminal 5 workers will be to ensure that any delay caused by the new security arrangements is taken into account by management and that passengers do not take out their frustrations on our members.’
Unite last week questioned government plans for biometric identity cards for airport staff.
Unite (TGWU) national secretary for civil air transport Steve Turner said last Thursday’s announcement by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith was ‘a development of questionable value’.
Turner said: ‘The security of access to airside areas of airports is of the utmost importance to us as a union.
‘Unite represents thousands of employees providing professional customer and airline services, including security, in an extremely sensitive and stressful environment.
‘We are also mindful that many of Unite’s two million members, their families and friends regularly use airports for both leisure and business as members of the travelling public.
‘A sensible, balanced and informed approach to matters of airport security must be agreed.
‘We are seeking assurances that our members will not be open to discrimination as a result of this development.
‘We have particular concerns over its introduction at airports where a highly diverse workforce undergoes lengthy and vigorous pre-employment checks applied to workers across the sector.
‘Unite has serious concerns over the general introduction of identity cards, as well as the gathering and use of biometric information, its storage and potential wider use by both employers and the state.’
