London’s Heathrow Airport may soon be the cause of a rocky arrival or departure as the security staff at the airport has decided to go on a long strike of over 60 days.
Your UK travel plans may get delayed owing to these strikes which begin on June 24 and end on August 27. Though this is not the first time that the airport staff is protesting, it is likely to affect almost all weekends of the summer season, as this is the first such strike.
Why is the staff on strike at London’s Heathrow Airport?
Reports state that over 2,000 security staff members are taking part in the strike. They are protesting against unsatisfactory wage offers. Further, traffic at the airport would not just be affected at Terminal 5, but Terminal 3 as well, where staffers have voted to join the strike.
Terminal 5 serves some major airlines such as British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Emirates, Qatar, United, American and Delta, and while the strike hasn’t caused much trouble for travellers, the upcoming protests could cause difficulties, as per various reports. Talking about the situation, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham told The Guardian, “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.”
According to The Guardian, the security staff has rejected a 10.1-percent pay hike. This is because in real-terms, wages have fallen 24 percent since 2017, as highlighted by the union, with new contracts that were issued amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
A spokesperson of the Heathrow Airport said, “Passengers can rest assured that we will do everything we can to minimise strike disruption so they can enjoy their hard-earned summer holidays,” as per The Guardian.
(Hero and Featured Image credit: Belinda Fewings/Unsplash)
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ANUSHKA GOEL
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