A new set of talks are set to take place later today (December 31) in an attempt to avert the strike action planned for January at seven UK airports.
BAA, the owner of the airports, requested the discussions be held after last week’s talks with trade union Unite broke down without agreement over proposed changes to the company’s final salary pension scheme.
Any industrial action would involve as many as 6,000 airport workers, including fire-fighters and security staff.
Before entering today’s negotiations, Unite national aviation officer, Brendan Gold, re-emphasised his belief that the current pension scheme is financially viable and should be retained for new workers joining BAA’s workforce.
Under the plans for strike action proposed by Unite, two 24-hour stoppages would be held, on both January 7 and 14, with a longer 48-hour period of action scheduled for January 17.
The seven airports that would be affected if the strikes went ahead are London Heathrow, London Gatwick, London Stansted, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Southampton.
