Heathrow to ‘grind to halt’

Heathrow Airport will “grind to a halt”, the Unite union has promised, as workers plan four days of strikes in December.

The targeted industrial action – involving firefighters, engineers, operations, security and baggage staff - is the latest move to resist Heathrow Airport Limited’s plans to “fire and rehire” 4,000 staff on new contracts that pay lower wages.

Twenty-four hour long strikes will take place on 1 December, when the new contracts take effect, then 14, 17 and 18 December.

Unite’s regional coordinating officer Wayne King said: “The airport is using the Covid-19 pandemic as a smokescreen to permanently cut workers’ pay.

“These decisions will turn Heathrow from one of the most successful airports in the world into a workplace run on bullying and intimidation.

Unite says that workers are being called to one-to-one meetings at which they are given four options: accept the terms of the new 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.

The union adds that workers are being told that if they try to utilise their legal right to sign a new contract under protest it will be classed as a refusal and the worker will lose their job.

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