Airport Pay - Luton Workers Fly Off The Handle

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• Airport Pay - Luton Workers Fly Off The Handle

14 March 2018

Staff working in security, fire and engineering are part of a 750 strong contingent up in arms and likely to strike as Luton Airport has announced big profits but low pay rises. 

A pay offer on the table is almost half the rate of inflation, yet management and directors are getting well rewarded as London's fourth airport has seen record passenger numbers.

The latest financial statements showed that the directors' remuneration increased 59 per cent and the highest paid director received an increase of 48 per cent.

Following months of negotiations the company has offered to increase workers’ pay by 2.15 per cent at a time when the Retail Price Index is up by 4 per cent. 

Furious workers are warning that unless the company makes a substantial improvement, an industrial action ballot could get underway.

Gatwick airport passengers facing transport chaos

Bus drivers ferrying passengers to and from planes at Gatwick Airport started voting for strike action at the end of January after their employer offered a 0 per cent pay increase.

Big brother

Both groups mentioned above have Unite Union members. the Union has a new online tool that can generate a professional pay claim. At the click of a mouse the tool allows union reps to gather the latest up-to-date information from Companies House, the Office for National Statistics and the union’s own database containing the details of tens of thousands of pay deals. 

Luton by numbers

London Luton Airport has delivered:

• An increase in turnover of 10.8 per cent to £163m.
• An increase in pre-tax profits to £44m.
• A rise in profit generated per employee of 9.6 per cent.
• The airport welcomed 15.8 million passengers in 2017, marking an 8.6 per cent increase compared with the previous year and making 2017 the airport’s busiest year on record.

Picture: London Luton Airport is still undergoing development work. It may become even more undesirable if essential staff strike over wages

Article written by Brian Shillibeer | Published 14 March 2018

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