Birmingham Airport workers set strike date over pay

A spokesman for the airport said the union's call for action breached the terms of its bargaining agreement

About 100 airport security staff and technicians have set a date to walk out in a row over pay, a union said.

The Birmingham Airport workers would begin "all out continuous strike action from 18 July" after Friday's vote for action, Unite said.

It would "severely impact" some operations leading to delays for carriers such as TUI, EasyJet and Ryanair, it added.

The airport said its pay offer was "well above the current UK average".

An airport [BHX] spokesperson added, if a strike did take place, they were confident its effect would be limited with no cancellations.

Three-quarters of those balloted were security officers "working unsociable shift patterns for as little as £11.50 an hour", a union representative said.

Last year they were offered "just 2.8%", while the real rate of inflation was at 13.8%. This year's pay offer of 7.75% and a one-off payment of £850 still represented a real-terms pay cut, they said.

"The offer would leave many workers unable to pay their bills as well as causing more staffing shortages," said Unite.

Sulinder Singh, from Unite, said there was time to resolve the dispute with the airport

Unite's regional officer Sulinder Singh said there was time for the dispute to be resolved "but the airport must table a deal our members can accept".

BHX said the union's information on pay was "not correct" as the Consumer Price Index was the recommended statistic for inflation, which in 2022-23 was about 10% and similar to its pay offer accepted by other workers.

A spokesman added the union's call for strike action "breaches the terms of the bargaining agreement", which provides for a second stage of talks and then ACAS involvement, if both parties agreed.

"However, if strike action does take place, we are confident the impact will be limited, and we do not anticipate any cancellations.

"Our advice to customers remains to arrive at the airport in line with guidance from their airline."