Around 950 employees at Gatwick Airport will commence an eight-day strike later this month due to a dispute over wages. Despite Gatwick’s assurance that contingency plans are in place to ensure flights operate as scheduled, the possibility of disruptions caused by strikes and existing air traffic control issues raises concerns for another challenging summer following last year’s labor shortages. The workers involved in this strike are responsible for baggage handling and check-in and are employed by ASC, Menzies Aviation, GGS, and DHL Services.
The strike will initially last for four days, starting on Friday, July 28th, and ending on Tuesday, August 1st. This will be followed by another four-day strike from Friday, August 4th, to Tuesday, August 8th. Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite, expressed her dissatisfaction with the low wages received by the workers, highlighting their essential roles in keeping the airport and airlines operational. Unite aims to eradicate the issue of low pay as part of their commitment to improving the jobs, pay, and conditions of their members.
Earlier this week, Unite announced a successful deal for a 16% pay increase for security staff employed by ICTS at Gatwick, setting a benchmark for all other pay agreements at the airport. Unite also stated that airlines such as British Airways, easyJet, Ryanair, Tui, WestJet, and Wizz will be affected by the upcoming strikes. Cirium, an analytics firm, provided data indicating that over 4,400 flights are scheduled to depart from Gatwick during the planned strike days.
Gatwick responded to the strike ballot by assuring their support for airlines in implementing contingency plans to ensure smooth flight operations. Gatwick Airport has faced recent disruptions due to air traffic control issues in Europe caused by the conflict in Ukraine and strikes in local control centers across the continent.
In other news, 150 security guards and terminal technicians at Birmingham Airport are also preparing for an all-out strike next Tuesday due to a pay dispute. Additionally, strikes by security guards at Heathrow Airport, threatened earlier this summer, were eventually called off after 18 days of walkouts when the airport agreed to a two-year deal with the Unite union, guaranteeing a minimum pay increase of 15.5%. Gatwick Airport, one of the busiest single-runway airports globally, has recently submitted a planning application for the development of a second runway.
Please note that newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertisements, and content funded by external entities. For further details, refer to our Privacy Policy. Our website is protected by Google reCaptcha, and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Overall, this strike at Gatwick Airport, along with other potential strikes at Birmingham and Heathrow airports, poses challenges for airline operations during the summer season.
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
