Heathrow Airport in London, UK, could face further disruption this summer after British Airways (BA) staff voted to go on strike over pay issues.
The aim is to overturn a 10% pay cut, which was put in place by the British flag carrier using ‘fire and rehire’ strategies during the pandemic period.
The carrier has offered a 10% one-off bonus, without reinstating the same pay package.
GMB and Unite unions balloted nearly 700 workers employed by BA, with 95% of them backing the strike.
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Unite aviation national officer Oliver Richardson said: “The problems British Airways is facing are entirely of its own making. It brutally cut jobs and pay during the pandemic even though the government was paying them to save jobs.
“In the case of this dispute, they have insulted this workforce, slashing pay by 10% only to restore it to managers but not to our members. BA is treating its loyal workforce as second-class citizens and they will not put up with it a moment longer.
“Strike action will inevitably cause severe disruption to BA’s services at Heathrow. The company has a short window of opportunity to reinstate our members’ pay before strikes are called. I urge BA not to squander that opportunity.”
The strike date has not been announced yet.
Heathrow has already been facing disruption lately. Recently, this was caused by a technical malfunction in the airport’s baggage system, which affected thousands of passengers.
This added to the existing travel chaos that had been triggered by staff shortages.
Meanwhile, earlier this week, the UK eased airport slot rules in a bid to prevent last-minute flight cancellations.
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