Staff at BAA airports vote to strike
LONDON. August 13. KAZINFORM Ground staff at British airport operator BAA have voted to strike in a dispute over pay, the union Unite said, a move which could shut many of the country's busiest airports, Kazinform refers to Arab News.
Unite said on Thursday its members at BAA, owned by Spanish group Ferrovial, had voted three-to-one in favor of industrial action.
The union called on the company to reopen negotiations on its pay dispute. BAA said the union had only gained weak backing for a strike after just half its members took part in the vote.
Unite said its officials would meet on Aug. 16 to decide dates for any walk outs but added it was hoping to reach a settlement with BAA without having to resort to strikes. It will have to give seven days notice of any action.
"For the past four months BAA has refused to even meet with us," said Unite official Brendan Gold.
BAA said the vote would add to uncertainty for passengers, already hit this year by strikes by airline flight attendants and weather-related disruption.
British Airways, BAA's largest customer, remains in dispute with Unite over changes to cabin crew pay and conditions, which has resulted in 22 days of strike so far, with no resolution in sight.
The spread of ash from an erupting volcano in Iceland grounded much of Europe's air traffic for nearly a week in April on fears over its effect on jet engines.
Earlier on Thursday Prime Minister David Cameron criticized the strike threat, saying action would do "nothing but harm."
Unite balloted more than 6,000 BAA employees, including the security guards, firemen and engineers essential in keeping an airport running.
The union said 3,054 of those balloted had taken part in the vote, with 2,263 voting in favor and 791 against.
Regulations require minimum levels of staffing for airport fire stations and security gates, meaning BAA airports, which include London's Heathrow and Stansted, would likely be closed by strike action.
BAA's staff, who last year accepted a pay freeze, have been offered a 1 percent increase in earnings, plus an extra 0.5 percent conditional on changes to sickness agreements.
Unite, however, described the offer as "measly" and criticized the withdrawal of bonus payments, such as one conditional on BAA meeting its earnings targets - which it missed by 3 percent, Kazinform cites Arab News. See www.arabnews.com for full version.