Staff at six UK airports owned by BAA have voted three to one in favour of striking in a dispute over pay, their union says. Heathrow, Stansted, Southampton, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen airports would have to close if strikes went ahead, BAA said, as key staff such as firefighters were due to take part.
The Unite union, which says it is fighting a 'measly' pay offer worth up to 1.5%, said 74.1% of the 3,054 staff who voted had said yes to strike action. A total of 6,185 staff were balloted. BAA said the 50% turnout meant the union did not have a clear mandate to act.
Both sides said they would try to avert the action through negotiation and the conciliation service Acas said it is ready to facilitate a meeting as soon as one could be arranged. Unite said it would be meeting on Monday to discuss a strike plan, leaving the weekend open for talks.
Prime Minister David Cameron stressed how disruptive any stoppages would be for the UK economy. 'These sorts of strikes never achieve anything apart from damage - damage to business, damage to jobs, damage to the interests of tourists who want to come to visit Britain, or people who want to leave Britain and have a holiday overseas,' he said.
Unite is hoping to force BAA to improve its current pay offer. Staff accepted a pay freeze in 2009, and described the offer for this year - a 1% increase, with the possibility of an extra 0.5% if the union agrees to changes to the company's sickness agreement - as 'nothing short of confrontational'.
