Unite announced on Wednesday (3 May) that 275 members working in terminal operations and airport security will decide whether to down their tools as part of a long-standing pay dispute with employer Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP).
Workers previously rejected an 11% pay rise as well as a lump sum of £1,000, claiming GIP had made a higher offer to workers at Gatwick.
“The situation is entirely different now with passenger figures hitting over 11 million last year, and inflation standing at a 40-year high,” said Unite secretary general Sharon Graham. “Pay needs to keep up with the cost of living – simple.”
The airport has called the ballot “disappointing”, labelling the offer put on the table as “fair and competitive”.
“We cannot understand why Unite campaigned against and rejected the very offer they asked us for,” an airport spokesperson said.
The hub has also added that Edinburgh workers received a different offer compared to Gatwick due to their different context.
“Despite the challenges of Covid this will be the third pay rise given to the team at Edinburgh airport since 2020,” they added. “This is the first offer made by Gatwick in the same timeframe.
“This means that the Edinburgh team would have received an overall pay increase of 19.6% over the same time.”
Edinburgh airport workers are not the only ones to consider going on strike. Workers at Glasgow airport warned of a summer of disruption if security service provide ICTS doesn’t improve its 5% pay offer while Heathrow security staff are expected to walk out between 4-6, 9-10 and 25-27 May.
