Heathrow to face ‘widespread disruption’ in May due to week-long strike

Travellers at London Heathrow will be faced with additional delays and disruption in May, following the announcement this week of yet another planned strike, this time by passenger services staff.

Close to 800 members of the Unite union are set to walk out for seven days next month, from 00.01 on 7 May to 23.59 on 13 May, in a dispute over the airport’s decision to outsource from 1 June workers in passenger services, campus security and trolley operations.

The move comes just days after refuelling workers at the UK hub announced a planned 72-hour strike on 4 May in a dispute over terms and conditions for new joiners.

Unite warned this latest week-long strike will “cause widespread disruption”, and the dispute is one that Heathrow Airport “has brought upon itself”.

The union, in a statement, said the airport has refused to enter into negotiations about alternatives to the outsourcing decision, which Unite said will lead to “a substantial reduction in the number of workers” and raises “serious security concerns”.

Unite’s general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Heathrow Airport’s actions are deplorable, it is raking in massive profits for the bosses while trying to squeeze every last penny out of its workforce.

“Unite is fully focused on defending its members’ jobs, pay and conditions and our members at Heathrow will receive the union’s unrelenting support during this dispute,” he said in a statement.