Unite to ballot BAA staff on strike action

[Pieter C. 5]

Union To Ballot BAA Staff On Strike Action

 

July 16, 2010

 

The Unite union has given British airport operator BAA seven days notice of its intention to hold a strike ballot in a dispute over pay.

 

The union said on Friday it would ballot 6,185 employees including security staff, engineers, fire fighters and support staff at BAA airports.

 

Ferrovial-owned BAA operates London's Heathrow airport, as well as Stansted, Southampton, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh airports in the UK.

 

Unite said BAA staff, who had accepted a pay freeze in 2009, had been offered a one percent pay rise, plus half a percent conditional on changes to conditions.

 

It added staff were also offered a bonus on condition that BAA met its earnings targets, which BAA missed by three percent.

 

BAA declined to comment.

 

(Reuters)

[Mohd Suhaimi Fariz 2]

First BA, now the airport workers. It's not a good time to fly in Britain. Can other airports pick up the slack?