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Baggage handlers at the UK airport have scheduled a strike for three days in April
A baggage handler strike scheduled for this month in Heathrow Airport could scupper travel plans for British tourists hoping to get some sun in Spain this Easter.
The baggage maintenance engineers are demanding more pay and have voted to hold three days of industrial action between April 8 and 10. According to the union Unite which represents the Heathrow staff, more than 160 workers voted for the work stoppage which would affect every airline operating out of the airport.
The baggage handlers are employed by Vanderlande Industries which has frozen their pay despite reporting revenue growth last year, and the union’s general secretary Sharon Graham has accused the employer of “cashing in” on the recovery of the tourism industry while “refusing a decent pay rise even as the cost of living soars”.
Also of interest: Orihuela Costa prepares its beaches for Easter Week
Ms Graham added: “Employers across the sector are on notice that our members are ready to fight back against the sustained and opportunistic attacks against jobs, pay and conditions that have blighted this industry for far too long.”
With most schools in the UK set to break up for the holidays on April 4, the planned strike action is expected to have a huge impact on holidaymakers heading away for Easter, and the Union has urged Heathrow and Vanderlande Industries to come up with a solution to the pay dispute before this happens.
However, a Heathrow spokesperson said that the airport was not involved in the pay discussions, but that “we will of course remain in close contact with Vanderlande Industries and other airport partners when it comes to our operations, including helping them to mitigate any passenger impact should the planned industrial action go ahead.”
Image: Wikimedia Commons
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