Heathrow faces summer strikes as unions demand pay cut is reinstated

theguardian.com:

Heathrow airport could be hit by strikes this summer, as 700 check-in and ground staff vote on whether to walk out during the peak holiday period in a dispute with British Airways over pay.

As a second day of national rail strikes is under way, 700 workers employed by BA are being balloted on industrial action by unions including GMB and Unite, with the result of the vote expected on Thursday afternoon. The Unite ballot closes on Monday. If they vote for strike action, it would be “likely during school holidays”, a GMB spokesperson said.

The dispute stems from BA using “fire and rehire” practices to cut workers’ pay during the pandemic when they could not fight back, the GMB union said.

“All our members are asking for – and these are primarily low-paid women – is for BA to reinstate the 10% taken from them during the pandemic,” a GMB spokesperson said.

BA responded by saying: “After a deeply difficult two years which saw the business lose more than £4bn, these colleagues were offered a 10% payment for this year which was rejected.

“We remain fully committed to talks with our trade unions about their concerns and we hope that together we can find a way to reach an agreement in the best interests of our people and our customers.”

GMB said while BA was offering a 10% one-off bonus for this year, the union is demanding that the 10% pay cut imposed on workers during the pandemic be reversed permanently.

The union also pointed out that bosses’ pay had returned to pre-pandemic levels, and the chief executive of BA’s parent company IAG, Luis Gallego, is in line for a £4.9m payout this year if he hits all his targets.

His pay package sparked a sizeable shareholder revolt last week, with more than a quarter of investors failing to back