Security Officers at Heathrow Announce Summer Strike Dates

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07 June 2023

A strike at Heathrow Airport this summer will involve over 2,000 security staff over 31 days.

Security officers based at Terminal Three and Terminal Five, as well as campus security staff who are responsible for checking all personnel and vehicles going airside, voted for strike action through the union Unite in an ongoing dispute over pay.

Employees rejected a below-inflation pay offer of 10.1 per cent. Unite’s research has revealed that since 2017, the average remuneration of Heathrow Airports Ltd (HAL) workers has fallen by 24 per cent in real terms.

Heathrow security officers are paid between £5,000 and £6,000 per annum less than their counterparts at Stansted and Gatwick. Unite also points out that Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye’s salary rose 88 per cent between 2020 and 2021, from £800,000 to £1.5 million.

The strikes commence at the beginning of the school holidays on Saturday 24 June and continue throughout July and August. Eid festival and the August bank holiday will also be affected.

“Delays, disruption and cancellations will be inevitable as a result of the strike action. But this dispute is completely of HAL’s own making."

– Wayne King

Regional Co-Ordinating Officer, Unite

 

Heathrow Strike Dates for Summer 2023

• 24, 25, 28, 29 and 30 June
• 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, 24, 28, 29, 30 31 July 
• 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 24, 25, 26, and 27 August

Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham said: “Unite is putting Heathrow on notice that strike action at the airport will continue until it makes a fair pay offer to its workers. Make no mistake, our members will receive the union’s unflinching support in this dispute. 

“HAL has got its priorities all wrong. This is an incredibly wealthy company, which this summer is anticipating bumper profits and an executive pay bonanza. It’s also expected to pay out huge dividends to shareholders, yet its workers can barely make ends meet and are paid far less than workers at other airports.”

Unite Regional Co-Ordinating Officer Wayne King said: “Delays, disruption and cancellations will be inevitable as a result of the strike action. But this dispute is completely of HAL’s own making.

“The company has been given numerous opportunities to make an offer that meets our members’ expectations and so avoid another period of damaging strike action. Sadly, HAL has stubbornly refused to take this opportunity.”

Picture: a photograph of a shopping area in Heathrow Airport, showing communal seating areas and shops. Image Credit: Pixabay

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 07 June 2023

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