City airport workers get tough on pay

Agency staff at London City Airport who have not had a pay rise since 2008, may be balloted for industrial action if talks at conciliation service Acas fail to make progress. The staff, who are employed by Aviation Resources to provide checking-in and dispatch services for CityJet, Air France and KLM, are also concerned about what their union, the GMB, described as bullying tactics.

The dispute highlights problems often facing agency staff and their unions in that Aviation Resources has no sway over the pay and conditions of employment of the staff they supply as they are set by the individual airlines. GMB organiser Stephanie Attwood said the union’s executive “was told that CityJet is the problem”, refusing to negotiate with the union or allow Aviation Resources to have meaningful discussions with the union.

The GMB accused CityJet of: refusing to sanction a pay rise despite inflation of more than 9% since January 2008; demanding that part-time working parents lose their long-standing flexible rosters, affecting their ability to work at the airport; and bullying tactics. It claimed that a new mother, on her first day back to work, was told that her “grooming needed attention” as she had “put on weight”.