A CONTROVERSIAL planned strike by Heathrow Airport workers on Monday has been halted at the last minute. Union bosses confirmed that “tomorrow’s strike by Unite members has been suspended to allow for further talks” – but Tuesday’s planned strike could still go ahead. Members of the Unite union were due to walk off the job […]
A CONTROVERSIAL planned strike by Heathrow Airport workers on Monday has been halted at the last minute.
Union bosses confirmed that “tomorrow’s strike by Unite members has been suspended to allow for further talks” – but Tuesday’s planned strike could still go ahead.
Members of the Unite union were due to walk off the job from one minute past midnight for 48 hours.
The two sides have been meeting throughout the weekend under the chairmanship of the conciliation service Acas.
Unite said: “Tomorrow’s talks will involve senior directors from Heathrow Airport and senior Unite officials.”
The union said the mediation was aimed at “averting a second day of planned strike action set to start at 00:01 and finish at 23:59 on Tuesday August 6.
“Unite will not be making any further comment while talks are ongoing.”
But Heathrow has already been forced to cancel around 177 flights on Monday and Tuesday, causing disruption to passengers.
However, the scale of disruption would have been worse if Monday’s strike had gone ahead.
Passengers are being urged to check with their airline for the latest news on flights.
Unite members, including security staff, firefighters and engineers have voted heavily against a pay offer Heathrow said was worth 7.3 per cent over two-and-a-half years.
A Heathrow spokesman said: “We will continue talks with Unite tomorrow and we remain hopeful that we can find a resolution and stop this disruptive and unnecessary threat of strike action.
“Airlines may choose to reinstate impacted flights.”
He added: “We regret that passengers have been inconvenienced by this and urge them to contact their airline for up to date information on the status of their service.
“On Tuesday’s planned strike, Heathrow said it has been working closely with airlines to identify departing flights which will need to be cancelled.
“While the vast majority of flights will be unaffected, some airlines are making arrangements to operate flights from other UK airports, others will be delaying flights and unfortunately a number will be cancelled.
“Airlines have now started to contact passengers on affected flights and passengers should contact their airline for more information.”
Passengers are recommended to check their flight status before travelling to the airport and read the guidance on http://heathrow.com/ to prepare for their journey.
British Airways, which is based at Heathrow, was expected to be one of the most heavily affected due to planned strikes.
Prior to the weekend’s conciliation talks, Unite had warned that around 88,000 passengers would be affected if the industrial action went ahead on Monday and Tuesday.
In preparation for the two-day strike, a Heathrow spokeswoman told BBC News last week that the airport had “proactively cancelled 177 flights departing Heathrow across Monday and Tuesday.
“Passengers on these flights will have either been rebooked onto alternative services or provided a refund.”
Unite warned that two more strikes could follow on 23 and 24 August, while a separate dispute between British Airways and its pilots is threatening to cause further disruption later this month.
The union said Heathrow’s latest pay offer amounted to just £3.75 more per day than its first offer and warned the airport could end up having to pay £4.6m in compensation costs to airlines if two further strikes take place later in August.
“Our low paid members will sacrifice a day’s pay if they go on strike and are only too aware of the disruption it will cause,” said Wayne King, a regional officer at Unite.
If your flight is cancelled, you have the legal right to either a full refund within seven days or a replacement flight to your destination.
This applies for whatever reason your flight was cancelled or how long before you were told it would no longer be be flying.
If your flight is delayed by three hours or more and you were flying to or from a European airport, or with an EU-based airline such as Ryanair or British Airways then you can claim compensation up to €250 (£229) for short-haul flights and €400 (£367) for mid-haul flights and €600 (£530) for long-haul flights.
But the airline might not payout if it’s out of their control, for example, due to bad weather or strikes.
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