Heathrow Airport staff to be balloted over BAA strike
Heathrow Airport could see its services disrupted again this summer as Unite has announced its intention to hold a strike ballot among airport staff.The union said that it is giving airport operator BAA seven days' notice of a strike ballot to establish whether industrial action will be taken over pay increases.
Currently staff are being offered a one per cent pay rise, plus an additional half per cent subject to conditions, after taking a pay freeze in 2009.
BAA owns Heathrow Airport, Stansted Airport, Southampton Airport, Glasgow Airport, Aberdeen Airport and Edinburgh Airport in the UK.
Unite's national officer for civil aviation, Brendan Gold, said: "Unite and BAA have been in talks for months and we are prepared to continue talking. A negotiated agreement can be reached if the company is prepared to be fairer and more realistic."
In response to the announcement BAA said that it was "disappointed" about the ballot, adding "we believe this to be a reasonable offer at a time when BAA and its airline customers are seeing a decline in passengers due to the impacts of recession and volcanic ash."
The airport operator reported a 1.7 per cent per cent drop in passenger numbers for June earlier this week.
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