Strikes set over Heathrow fire and rehire

UNITE members at Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL) facing controversial “fire and re-hire” plans have returned an 85% vote in favour of industrial action. They are planning the first 24-hour strike for Tuesday 1 December, with a further one-day stoppage on Monday 14 December. A 48-hour stoppage will take place on Thursday 17 and Friday 18 December.

The dispute is over plans to fire and rehire HAL’s 4,000 workers on vastly reduced pay, and will involve firefighters, engineers, security, baggage operations, operational and airside workers.

According to the union, workers are being called to one-to-one meetings where they are asked to accept within 24 hours the terms of a new, inferior contract with a lump sum payment, a phased buy down over two years of the new contract, voluntary severance, or resignation/termination of their contract.

Unite said the pay cuts, of up to £8,000 per worker, were unnecessary given that the airport had large cash reserves, and accused Heathrow of rushing staff into accepting worse contracts or resigning.

Unite regional coordinating officer Wayne King said: “The airport is using the pandemic as a smokescreen to permanently cut workers’ pay.

“Management are using the vilest form of bullyboy tactics of fear and intimidation.”

https://unitetheunion.org/news-events/news/2020/november/heathrow-airport-set-to-grind-to-halt-as-strikes-announced