The security staff at Heathrow Airport in London has decided to stage a strike for over 31 days from June to August. Heathrow Airport has seen similar strikes previously and the disruption to passengers was not significant, but this strike is likely to affect every weekend of the summer.
Over 2,000 security staff members are participating in the strike, as they protest against unsatisfactory wage offers. The strike, initially affecting Terminal 5, has the potential to spread to Terminal 3, leading to further disruptions according to a report from The Guardian.
Terminal 5 is utilized by major airlines such as British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Emirates, Qatar, United, American, and Delta. While the recent strikes at the airport have not caused substantial inconvenience to passengers thus far, the ongoing series of strikes could potentially result in difficulties for travelers.
“This is an incredibly wealthy company, which this summer is anticipating bumper profits and an executive pay bonanza. It’s also expected to pay out huge dividends to shareholders, yet its workers can barely make ends meet and are paid far less than workers at other airports,” Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham said according to The Guardian.
The union is highlighting the drop in wages which came after the new contracts during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Passengers can rest assured that we will do everything we can to minimize strike disruption so they can enjoy their hard-earned summer holidays,” a spokesperson of Heathrow Airport said.
“Unite has already tried and failed to disrupt the airport with unnecessary strikes on some of our busiest days and we continue to build our plans to protect journeys during any future action,” they added.
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Updated: 07 Jun 2023, 05:18 PM IST