The Unite trade union has warned of ‘chaos’ at Edinburgh Airport this summer after around half the workers at the hub voted to strike.
The strike action was supported by 85% of Unite’s membership, a total of 275 workers, it said. The trade union said it represents the majority of the estimated 500 employees at Edinburgh Airport
Unite is now calling on airport bosses to come back with an improved pay offer.
Staff have already rejected one pay offer, which Unite said was worse than the one offered to workers at Gatwick. The London airport’s members recently accepted a 12% pay hike plus a £1,500 one-off cash payment.
Edinburgh Airport said it had offered an 11% pay rise along with a £1,000 cost-of-living payment and has now made an improved offer to staff.
Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham said: “Unite’s members at Edinburgh Airport have emphatically backed strike action.
“The pay offer on the table is nowhere near good enough and airport bosses know it.
“A realistic pay offer needs to be put on the table which values our members in the same way as our members at Gatwick Airport.
“Unite will always support our members in the fight for better jobs, pay and conditions.”
Edinburgh’s workers deal with passengers directly in airport security, terminal operations and process travellers for flights.
Unite added that workers involved in the ballot also screen deliveries and deal with airside support services.
Edinburgh Airport called the decision to take strike action ‘disappointing’, adding: “We have made an improved offer to staff, with a 50% increase in the cost-of-living payment proposed. This has not yet been balloted on.
“We have proposed a deal that is well above what has been offered to many other workers in Scotland and is well above inflation.”
The airport said it had ‘serious concerns’ about the integrity of the original ballot and the number of members that voted. It added that Unite had failed to address these concerns.
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The strike action was supported by 85% of Unite’s membership, a total of 275 workers, it said. The trade union said it represents the majority of the estimated 500 employees at Edinburgh Airport
Unite is now calling on airport bosses to come back with an improved pay offer.
Staff have already rejected one pay offer, which Unite said was worse than the one offered to workers at Gatwick. The London airport’s members recently accepted a 12% pay hike plus a £1,500 one-off cash payment.
Edinburgh Airport said it had offered an 11% pay rise along with a £1,000 cost-of-living payment and has now made an improved offer to staff.
Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham said: “Unite’s members at Edinburgh Airport have emphatically backed strike action.
“The pay offer on the table is nowhere near good enough and airport bosses know it.
“A realistic pay offer needs to be put on the table which values our members in the same way as our members at Gatwick Airport.
“Unite will always support our members in the fight for better jobs, pay and conditions.”
Edinburgh’s workers deal with passengers directly in airport security, terminal operations and process travellers for flights.
Unite added that workers involved in the ballot also screen deliveries and deal with airside support services.
Edinburgh Airport called the decision to take strike action ‘disappointing’, adding: “We have made an improved offer to staff, with a 50% increase in the cost-of-living payment proposed. This has not yet been balloted on.
“We have proposed a deal that is well above what has been offered to many other workers in Scotland and is well above inflation.”
The airport said it had ‘serious concerns’ about the integrity of the original ballot and the number of members that voted. It added that Unite had failed to address these concerns.
The post Union threatens ‘chaos’ at UK airport appeared first on Travel Gossip.
Continue reading...
