More than 100 London Luton Airport workers go on strike

Passengers travelling to Luton airport could face delays and flight disruption after more than 100 workers walked out

More than 100 ground handlers, cleaners and car park workers have gone on strike at London Luton Airport.

They have walked out for 24 hours in a dispute about working conditions and pay.

General secretary of the Unite union, Sharon Graham, said: "Passenger delays and flight disruption are inevitable."

A London Luton Airport spokesperson said: "We have robust contingency plans in place and there is currently no impact to passengers."

Union talks on Tuesday aimed at preventing strike action ended without agreement.

The people striking work for GH London Ground Handling Services, which is responsible for all of Wizz Air's ground handling operations, along with Saase Limited, which provides cleaning services, and APCOA parking.

Ms Graham said: "Unite's focus on workers' jobs, pay and conditions means that there is no way we will accept our members being mistreated or underpaid."

Unite regional officer Jeff Hodge believed strike action would have a positive impact for workers

Unite made a number of allegations against GH London about its working conditions.

The company's operations director, Gennaro Carcassa, said it was "disappointed" the union had taken the action, adding it had "worked tirelessly with Unite to promote a great working environment for all staff, including by implementing a 19.4% pay increase since late last year".

Meanwhile, workers employed by Saase Limited rejected a below inflation pay increase. Its employees were paid £10.90 an hour, Unite said.

In a statement, Sasse Limited said it had "worked extremely hard and ultimately successfully to become a Real Living Wage employer at London Luton Airport", adding it had "tried to resolve the situation with Unite on several occasions with no conclusion".

Other workers taking action over pay included valet parking workers and bus drivers transporting people from car parks to the terminal.

An APCOA spokesperson said it was "working to resolve the pay dispute with Unite", adding "we continue to provide excellent service to the airport and passengers".

Unite union workers held a picket line over working conditions and pay

Unite regional officer, Jeff Hodge, said: "Unite has given all three companies every opportunity to resolve these disputes through negotiations but they all refused to make proposals which met our members' expectations."

Further strikes have been announced for 6 and 13 September.

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email [e-mail]