Photo: ANP
Security guards at London’s Heathrow Airport have launched a 31-day strike during the busy summer period to press for higher wages. This was announced by the United Trade Union. According to Unite, more than 2,000 security guards will take part in those strikes. The first strike day was set for Saturday 24 June.
Strikes will continue sporadically through the end of August, and Unite says airlines will be hit hard. British Airways in particular will have a tough time, but carriers such as Virgin, Emirates Airlines, Qatar Airways, United Airlines, American Airlines and Delta Airlines will also face delays and cancellations, according to Etihad.
Unite claims that Heathrow security guards earn significantly less than their colleagues at Stansted and Gatwick airports in the UK. The union says the strikes will continue until Heathrow offers a fair wage offer and that the union fully supports these measures.
There have been several strikes this year at Heathrow, the UK’s largest airport. Security guards at Heathrow Airport also went on strike at the end of March, so that dozens of flights could not take place. For example, British Airways, which is based at the airport, has had to cancel several flights to and from Schiphol. Heathrow Airport was also the scene of strikes over Easter.
