Strike action set to hit Prestwick Airport as Unite fights back over rock bottom pay
Workers at Prestwick Airport have been told to accept real terms pay cut......
Prestwick Airport is set to be hit by strike action in the coming weeks as workers are to be balloted in a row over pay, the UK’s leading aviation trade union, Unite, confirmed yesterday, 6th July.
Unite has hit back at the refusal of Prestwick Airport’s management to pay shift pay and meet the Real Living Wage rate for new starters. The union is also angry that workers are being told to accept significant real-terms pay cuts whilst inflation reaches a 40-year high.
With real inflation now at 11.7 per cent, the offer on the table for the workforce of between 4 and 6.5 percent is a significant real-terms pay cut, says Unite.
Unite is looking for across-the-board rises closer to real inflation for all workers at the airport, and an immediate lift in the wage of the lowest-paid to take them to the Scottish Real Living Wage (£9.90).
The ballot opened on 5 July and closes on 19 July and will include airport security, firefighters, airfield operators, ground crew, ground handling, cargo, customer services, and cleaners. An earlier consultative ballot revealed that 86 per cent of Unite’s members supported taking strike action.
Josh has worked in both travel and the media for a number of years. He presents a number of online radio shows. He can be reached at josh@air101.co.uk