Nearly 800 workers affiliated with Unite, the UK's main union, will take part in a week-long strike at London Heathrow Airport starting this Tuesday, May 7, following the airport's decision to outsource hundreds of functions from June. in a cost reduction exercise.
Specifically, the protests will begin at 12:01 a.m. on May 7 and will end at 11:59 p.m. on May 13. The areas affected by this decision are passenger services workers, cart operations and campus security, according to a statement.
In addition, firefighters and air operations staff at Heathrow have joined the union action of the three subcontracted areas and recognize “the detrimental impact that subcontracting would have”, fear that “they could be next on the list” and support the idea of a multilateral collective agreement.
“The decision to outsource campus security guards marks a radical change from the agreement reached with Unite last summer, when, as part of the agreement to end the strike, the company agreed to start the process of hiring internally all security guards,” the union explained.
Likewise, Unite has highlighted that the company enjoys “incredible financial health”, with pre-tax profits of £701 million in 2023, “above what it earned before the pandemic.”
On the other hand, the union has claimed that the airport operator has refused to enter into negotiations with Unite on alternatives to outsourcing workforce which the company says will save £40m.
This cost reduction will lead to a substantial reduction in the number of workers, which “raises serious safety concerns, given the safety-critical nature of much of the work performed.”
For Unite general secretary Sharon Graham, Heathrow airport's decision is “deplorable”: “It is making huge profits for bosses while trying to squeeze every last penny out of its workforce.”
For his part, Unite regional coordinator Wayne King has warned that the strike will “inevitably” cause widespread disruption across the airport, with subsequent delays and disruption.
