29 April 2024 , 15:44
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A strike targeting Bank Holiday travellers has been called off after an agreement was reached.
Unite warned flights would be cancelled and passengers hit by travel chaos as unionised airport workers prepared to walk out. Refuelers working for Aviation Fuel Services (AFS) at Heathrow Airport were due to take industrial action for 72 hours beginning on Saturday 4 May, potentially grounding as many as 35 airlines. The workers said that their employer imposed drastic cuts to the terms and conditions of new staff recruited since January 2024.
It was announced this afternoon that the refuelers have now called off their planned strike after they accepted a new and improved pay and conditions offer from their employer. Unite said that AFS has agreed to improve the pension and sick leave offered to new workers to bring them closer in line with existing staff.
The workers were due to walk out over employment conditions (PA)Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "This is another victory for Unite in its campaign for members' pay and conditions and workers at AFS should be congratulated for standing firm against their employer and winning these improved terms."
Before the strike was called off, Unite warned it would impact household names such as Virgin, Delta, Emirates and Air France. The union claimed that staff were "furious at the imposition of a two-tier workforce" and had argued that it represents a potential “race to the bottom” for staff across the company.
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A spokesperson for Aviation Fuel Services Ltd commented: "We are pleased to confirm that the planned industrial action involving AFS from May 4 to 7 has now been cancelled and normal service will go ahead."
While the refuelers strike has been cancelled, another is still due to go ahead at Heathrow Airport in the coming weeks.
Unite has said close to 800 workers from across a number of different roles in the travel hub will leave their posts from midnight on May 7 to the end of May 13 in a major display of industrial action in opposition to outsourcing. The union has strongly criticised Heathrow management for planning to outsource hundreds of roles in a cost-cutting exercise.
Unite has accused Heathrow of ignoring existing consultation procedures by announcing that workers who assist travellers to catch connecting flights, trolley operations employees and campus security who check all vehicles they enter the airport will be outsourced by 1 June.
The three outsourced areas are being joined in industrial action by firefighters and airside operations from Heathrow Airport Limited who are also fighting back against the outsourcing.
Unite has warned that fire service and airside operations could be next in line for outsourcing and has called for a 'multilateral collective bargaining agreement', which would allow different groups of workers across the airport to join together in their negotiation efforts.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham added: "Heathrow Airport’s actions are deplorable, it is raking in massive profits for the bosses while trying to squeeze every last penny out of its workforce. Unite is fully focussed on defending its members jobs, pay and conditions and our members at Heathrow will receive the union’s unrelenting support during this dispute."
Heathrow has suggested the impact of the strikes will be limited, noting that "there was no disruption to passengers during the 2023 strikes". The travel hub has also promised that there will be no job losses, and that "all those who want to continue working at Heathrow will be able to do so on the same pay and T&Cs".
It went on to claim that the "reorganisation" will bring "all passenger-facing security in-house while formally transferring a small trolly operations team and a small passenger logistics team" to third party suppliers already working at Heathrow.
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