OVER 2,000 security guards at Heathrow Airport are holding a further 33 days of strike action throughout the summer.
The 33 days of strike action begin on Saturday, June 17, and carry on into the August Bank Holiday.
This escalation of the action follows several days of strike action by 1,400 Terminal 5 workers in April and May in a bitter dispute with Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL) over pay.
This action is now being stepped up, with 600 T3 workers joining their T5 colleagues on strike.
Thousands of workers at Heathrow suffered huge pay cuts under ‘fire and rehire’ during the pandemic.
There is huge anger that while management pay cuts have now been reversed this is not the case for the workers who lost thousands of pounds during Covid.
Unite says that restoration of the pay cuts is no longer an issue and the fight now is for a pay rise for the future.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said yesterday: ‘Unite is putting Heathrow on notice that strike action at the airport will continue until it makes a fair pay offer to its workers.
‘Make no mistake, our members will receive the union’s unflinching support in this dispute. HAL has got its priorities all wrong.
‘Dates workers will strike:
June: 17, 18, 24, 25, 28, 29, 30
July: 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, 24, 28, 29, 30 31
August: 4, 5, 6 ,7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 24, 25, 26, 27
‘These dates include Eid festival (June 28, 29 and 30), the beginning of the school holidays (July 21, 22, 23, 24) and the August Bank Holiday (24, 25, 26, 27).
‘This is an incredibly wealthy company, which this summer is anticipating bumper profits and an executive pay bonanza.
‘It’s also expected to pay out huge dividends to shareholders, yet its workers can barely make ends and are paid far less than workers at other airports.’
For the first time security officers based at Terminal Three, who voted for strike action last week, will join their colleagues from Terminal Five and campus security on the picket line, Unite said.
Campus security are responsible for checking all personnel and vehicles going airside.
The union warns that a number of airlines face disruption, delays and cancellation as a result of the Terminal Three walkout, including Virgin, Emirates, Qatar, United, American and Delta.
The extensive walkouts at Terminal Five will heavily affect British Airways’ summer schedule.
