Heathrow security to strike for 10 days including Easter

Security guards astatine Heathrow Airport's Terminal Five are to onslaught for 10 days this period successful a quality implicit pay.

The Unite national says much than 1,400 of its members employed by Heathrow volition locomotion retired from 31 March, a play which covers schoolhouse Easter holidays.

Workers astatine T5, which utilized by British Airways, and those who cheque cargo entering the airport, volition instrumentality portion successful the action, ending connected Easter Sunday.

Heathrow says contingency plans volition beryllium enactment successful spot to support the airdrome open.

In a statement, Heathrow said passengers tin beryllium assured the airdrome volition beryllium "open and operational contempt unnecessary threats of onslaught enactment by Unite".

The institution said it had projected "an inflation-beating 10% summation successful pay".

But Unite says the connection does not marque up for years of wage freezes and cuts.

Unite national caput wide Sharon Graham says workers astatine Heathrow Airport are connected "poverty wages" portion "the main enforcement and elder managers bask immense salaries".

She said Unite members are "simply incapable to marque ends conscionable owed to the debased wages" and they are striking "due to request not greed".

"It is the airport's workers who are cardinal to its occurrence and they merit a just wage increase," the Unite brag said.

Heathrow Airport says the wage connection connected connection is fair, and "threatening to ruin people's hard-earned holidays with onslaught enactment volition not amended the deal".

It said unit astatine Heathrow are paid astatine slightest the London Living Wage, portion the starting wage for a information serviceman would beryllium £27,754, positive displacement wage and allowances, if its 10% connection is accepted.