31-day strike in the summer – Great holiday chaos threatens at the London hub
The Unite union at London’s Heathrow Airport has already gone on strike several times
Quelle: Getty Images/Guy Smallman
Less than two months ago, major strikes caused flights to be canceled at London’s Heathrow Airport. Other parts of the workforce are now planning to stop working in the summer. In the middle of the holiday season. German passengers could also be affected.
EThe employees in the security areas of London’s Heathrow Airport have announced that it will be in “combat summer”. Therefore, between the end of June and the end of August, in the high season for holiday flights, they stop work for 31 days in order to obtain better pay. Almost all weekends in the summer months are affected, including the start of the school holidays in the country and a public holiday in August.
Around 2000 security guards working in the union Unite are organized will go on strike. Among other things, security personnel are responsible for screening passengers and baggage logistics after check-in. The so-called campus security, which checks vehicles and people before entering the airport premises, is also affected.
“Delays, disruptions and cancellations will be inevitable,” warns Wayne King, regional coordinator at Unite. The union had given the airport operator an opportunity to give in, but had turned this down.
Heathrow is one of the most important air traffic hubs in the world. The airport is currently the busiest in Europe. Around 16.9 million passengers took off, landed and transferred there in the first quarter of 2023, 74 percent more than in the same period last year. This put the airport west of the British capital London ahead of Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Paris.
“Passengers can rest assured that we will do everything we can to minimize the consequences of the strike,” said a spokesman for the airport operator. For the third time in just a few weeks, Heathrow has had to respond to staff shortages due to strikes. Only at Easter and during a holiday week at the end of May did security staff stop working. So far without major restrictions on flight operations.
But in the next round, more staff will be affected. In addition to the staff at Terminal Five, used by British Airways, security forces at Terminal Three are now also planning to go on strike. This time, Virgin Atlantic, Emirates, Qatar, United, American Airlines and Delta are likely to be affected by the loss of staff across the board.
Like many other European airports, Heathrow had difficulties handling passengers last summer. At the time, the airport was caught off guard by a boom in bookings following the end of Covid travel restrictions. Among other things, there was a lack of personnel in the security and ground services at the time. Finally, an upper limit for passengers per day was introduced, and airlines had to limit ticket sales.
Now strike leaders are pushing for better pay. The cost of living in Great Britain has risen even more significantly than in other regions of Europe due to high inflation rates. A quick end is not in sight. According to the forecasts of the OECD, the price increase in the current year should amount to 6.9 percent. Higher than in all other industrial nations.
Heathrow has already submitted an offer for a 10.1 percent pay rise in the negotiations. Unite had rejected this, citing retail price inflation as the crucial factor the union believes. This is currently 11.4 percent. The most widely used consumer price index was 8.7 percent in April. In addition, the pay at Heathrow is a few thousand pounds less than for the same jobs at other London airports.
“This is an incredibly wealthy company that is poised for record earnings this summer and a windfall for management,” said Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite. Shareholders could also look forward to high dividends. “But the company’s own employees can hardly make ends meet and are paid significantly less than at other airports.”
The security personnel are not alone in the country with their demands for better salaries. It has been since last summer living in uk repeatedly marked by strikes. Teachers, nursing staff, public sector workers and even doctors regularly go on strike to fight for wage compensation for inflation. To date, there has not been a major standstill, but individual areas are temporarily significantly restricted.
Tourists also regularly feel the effects, mainly due to strikes in local and long-distance transport or at museums. Anyone planning one to Great Britain should also keep an eye on the situation in France: The failures of air traffic control there have repeatedly led to delays in recent weeks. The latest strike ended after 24 hours on Wednesday morning.
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