Hundreds of British Airways ground staff working at London Heathrow have voted to strike in a pay dispute. The workers at terminals 3 and 5 are expected to walk out in July.
What are the chances that your flight will be affected? These are the key questions and answers.
Who are the British Airways workers involved in this dispute?
The 700 BA personnel are known as “above the wing” ground staff in terminals 3 and 5 at Heathrow airport. They work landside (before the security search) at check-in, administer bookings, check documents – including Covid test and vaccination certificates – and walk the floor helping passengers.
Airside, they operate the boarding gates and provide support for travellers. Most are women, and they are represented by the GMB and Unite unions.
They have voted overwhelmingly for industrial action over a pay claim.
Why are they striking?
During the slump in aviation caused by the coronavirus pandemic, their wages were cut by 10 per cent – in line with other groups of British Airways employees. BA has offered a one-off payment of 10 per cent this year, but the workers want the cash restored into their basic pay.
Nadine Houghton, GMB national officer, said the 10 per cent was “stolen from them last year” and that “bosses’ pay has returned to pre-pandemic levels”.
In addition, she says, these frontline workers are often on the receiving end of verbal and sometimes physical abuse from passengers, with frequent confrontations at times of disruption.
“GMB members at Heathrow have suffered untold abuse as they deal with the travel chaos caused by staff shortages and IT failures,” she said.
British Airways says it is “extremely disappointed” with the result, saying the 10 per cent bonus offer was made despite losses of more than £4bn during the coronavirus pandemic, and that it has been accepted by the majority of other colleagues.
When will they walk out?
Union officials have not yet announced dates. Because two weeks’ notice of industrial action must be given to an employer, the earliest that a stoppage could begin is 8 July.
Some insiders have suggested that a first bout of strike action could take place as soon as the weekend of 9-10 July, coinciding with the first weekend of summer holidays for many public schools in England.
One British Airways insider said the intention was to disrupt the journeys of high-spending customers. “They’re hoping to impact the family holidays of BA’s most important demographic, their…
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