Heathrow security officers announce summer walkout

Heathrow is facing a wave of industrial action during the peak summer months, it was announced on Wednesday.

Unite, the union, said around 2,000 security officers in Terminals Three and Five, along with campus security, would strike for a total of 31 days in June, July and August.

It claimed that the walkout would affect a number of airlines, including Virgin, Emirates, United and British Airways, which uses Terminal Five. Previous strike action only affected Terminal Five.

Heathrow and Unite have been locked in a pay dispute for several months. Heathrow most recently offered workers a 10.1% pay rise, which was rejected by union members as being "below inflation". Unite is using the older retail price index measure of inflation, which currently stands at 11.4%; the more widely used consumer price index measure is now 8.7%.

Unite’s regional co-ordinating officer Wayne King said: "Delays, disruption and cancellations will be inevitable as a result of the strike action.

"The company has been given numerous opportunities to make an offer than meets our members’ expectations, and so avoid another period of damaging strike action."

General secretary Sharon Graham added: "Heathrow has got its priorities all wrong. This is an incredibly wealthy company, which this summer is anticipating bumper profits and an executive pay bonanza."

A spokesman for Heathrow said the airport works to minimise disruption during the strikes.

He continued: "Unite has already tried and failed to disrupt the airport with unnecessary strikes on some of our busiest days, and we continue to build our plans to protect journeys during any future action.

"The majority of colleagues do not support Unite’s strikes. There is a two-year inflation-beating pay rise ready for colleagues if only Unite would allow them to have a say."

Heathrow is one of the world’s biggest airports. The strike dates include Eid, the beginning of the school holidays and the August bank holiday.