Heathrow workers call off first summer strikes

Security workers at Heathrow airport have called off the first two days of strike action after receiving an improved pay offer.

More than 2,000 staff said they will postpone industrial action on 24 and 25 June.

Unite, the union, said that its members will vote on the latest pay deal over the coming days.

However, if that is rejected, the remaining 29 days of strikes will go ahead as planned.

Last week, Heathrow security officers announced they would walk out after turning down a pay offer of 10.1%, which they said was "below inflation".

The most common measure of inflation, the CPI index, is has fallen from more than 10% to 8.7%. But the RPI index, another measure of inflation stood at 11.4% in the year to April.

The strikes will affect Terminals 3 and 5, and have an impact on airport crew checks. The action could spark queues at security.

The remaining strike days are:

• 28, 29 and 30 June

• 14, 15, 16, July

• 21, 22, 23, 24, July

• 28, 29, 30, 31 July

• 4, 5, 6 , 7 August

• 11, 12, 13, 14, August

• 18, 19, 20 August

• 24, 25, 26, 27 August

The walkouts coincide with busy travel periods including the summer holiday period for schools across the UK.

They also include dates for the Eid festival (28, 29 and 30 June) and the August bank holiday (24, 25, 26 and 27 August).

Unite said it had called off the initial two days of strikes as a "gesture of goodwill" after "extensive talks" between workers and management.

Under the new pay deal, workers will receive a 10% pay increase backdated to 1 January, which will begin in July's payslip.

It will then rise to an 11.5% increase from October.

Heathrow further offered a guarantee of an inflation-linked pay increase for 2024, rising by a minimum of 4%.

A spokesperson for the airport said: "We encourage them to accept the deal so that everyone can have certainty and the backdated pay increase that so many have been waiting for."

Unite members will be balloted between 13 and 23 June.

If further strikes were to go ahead, the airport does not anticipate any flight cancellations.