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Union bosses threaten summer of chaos at Heathrow as they plan 33 days of strikes

By Adam Mawardi

HOLIDAYMAKERS face travel chaos at Heathrow as security guards prepare to strike for 33 days over summer.

Unite announced yesterday that its members at the UK’s largest airport are planning the industrial action in their long-running dispute over pay.

The trade union is understood to want it to take place between June and August, although it has yet to confirm any dates. It comes after last month’s half-term travel chaos when a systems outage at all UK airports obliged Border Force to check all passports manually, resulting in long queues and delays.

The latest strikes threaten to ruin travellers’ holidays for a second summer after staff shortages left airports struggling to fill vacancies last year.

Unite officials were left scrambling last night after a failure to file paperwork in time forced the union to retract its official announcement.

In a now-deleted tweet, Unite initially said 33 days of strikes would take place on “almost every weekend from

‘Heathrow’s priorities are wrong. This is an incredibly wealthy company which is anticipating bumper profits’

mid-June to the end of August”.

However, it is understood the end-ofday deadline legally required notify Heathrow of the strikes was missed.

Notices of industrial action must be given to employers at least 14 days before strikes are due to begin and cannot be served over the weekend. A Unite spokesman said: “Due to a last- minute glitch, the industrial action notice has not been served and will be served next week.”

It is unclear whether the delay will change the official strike dates, which Unite plans to confirm next week. In a now-deleted tweet, Sharon Graham, its general secretary, said: “Unite is putting Heathrow on notice that strike action at the airport will continue until it makes a fair pay offer. Make no mistake, our members will receive the union’s unflinching support in this dispute.

“HAL [Heathrow Airport Limited] has got its priorities all wrong. This is an incredibly wealthy company, which this summer is anticipating bumper profits and an executive pay bonanza.

“It’s also expected to pay out huge dividends, yet its workers are paid far less than workers at other airports.”

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2023-06-03T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-06-03T07:00:00.0000000Z

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Daily Telegraph