Strike action planned at seven UK airports, including London Heathrow and London Gatwick, has been called off. Today’s (January 3) announcement came after the airports’ owner, BAA, amended plans to alter the pension rights of new workers joining its workforce.
As a result, Unite, the union representing as many as 6,000 airport security staff, fire fighters and other essential workers, decided to put a stop to the industrial action planned for January 7, 14 and 17.
“They have called off all the strikes,” a Unite spokesman confirmed. “They have accepted the results of the negotiations this week.”
BAA had claimed that any industrial action would affect up to 1.3 million travellers, but today’s announcement will instead see the airport authority meeting with the unions to discuss the future of the disputed pension fund.
However, passengers travelling with Virgin still look set to be affected by separate industrial action, with two planned 48-hour walkouts by cabin crew beginning on January 9 and January 16 leading to the cancellation of three flights on each of the affected days.
