Ground handlers at Gatwick Airport have accepted “dramatically improved” pay offers, averting the risk of industrial action and disruption over the bank holiday weekend.
Strikes by Red Handling and Wilson James workers had been scheduled for the weekend but have now been cancelled as a result of successful negotiations between the employers and the Unite union.
Members of Unite at Red Handling accepted a 14% increase in pay, and the workers will also receive improved overtime rates and better sick pay.
Meanwhile, Unite’s members at Wilson James accepted a 16% pay rise, an increase in overtime rates from next month, a commitment to further negotiations over sick pay and the opportunity of improved shift patterns.
There is no further industrial action scheduled at Gatwick Airport following previously accepted pay offers for workers at ASC, ICTS, DHL Gatwick Direct, DHL Services Ltd, GGS and Menzies Aviation, also negotiated by Unite.
The union’s general secretary, Sharon Graham, said: “The pay campaign at Gatwick Airport this summer is one of the clearest examples yet of how Unite’s relentless focus on jobs, pay and conditions is paying direct financial dividends for its members.”
Dominic Rothwell, Unite regional officer, said the union “will not be resting on its laurels” and would be using the successful negotiations as “the foundation for future campaigns” at the airport.
“This was an extremely complex campaign and its success would simply not have been possible without the hard work, dedication and commitment of Unite’s reps and members at Gatwick,” Rothwell added.
