Chaos averted as union calls off tomorrow’s Heathrow strike
The 24-hour strike that was due to force Heathrow into shutdown has been called off.
Unite the union had been engaged in talks with senior Heathrow personnel about averting the strikes, which would have been carried out by more than 4,000 workers, including security guards, firefighters and engineers.
A Heathrow spokesperson said: “Unite has chosen to postpone its strike action on Tuesday 6th August. Strike action on 23 and 24 August is still scheduled to go ahead.
“Unite will now take an improved offer to its members and we remain hopeful that we can find a resolution and stop this disruptive and unnecessary threat of strike action. We regret that passengers have been inconvenienced by this and urge them to contact their airline for up to date information on the status of their service.”
Unite and Heathrow held talks today about putting off today’s strike, with the airport putting a new pay offer on the table, which the union will now ask members to vote on.
Heathrow offered a pay rise of 7.3 per cent over two-and-a-half years, up from a previous offer of 4.6 per cent over an 18-month period for 70 per cent of its frontline staff.
Unite warned that the strike action scheduled for 23 and 24 August remained on the table while its members considered the new offer and the results of the ballot came in.