Heathrow Airport pay talks falter as union ballots for strike

Heathrow Airport has rejected a union proposal on pay cuts as the London hub struggles to cope with a collapse in air travel, according to labor group Unite. Management rebuffed a package under which all employees, including top executives, would have returned bonus payments, with most staff reverting to December 2019 salary levels, the union said Thursday. Shareholders also stood to lose GBP100m in dividend payments under the plan. Unite is balloting members on strike action. A Heathrow spokesman said the Unite measures weren’t enough to see it through the coronavirus crisis. The airport’s plan is for a salary reduction of as much as 25% for about half of 4,700 front-line staff -- who include cleaners, security personnel and engineers -- to avoid compulsory redundancies. Passenger numbers at what is usually Europe’s busiest hub have become stuck at less than 20% of typical levels. The long-haul trips in which Heathrow specializes have been hardest hit, with crucial North Atlantic traffic down 95% last month. Unite said some workers face pay cuts of 8,000 pounds a year under the Heathrow proposals. The union said its own plan would see the return of bonuses ranging from GBP700 for the average employee to GBP566,000 for CEO John Holland-Kaye, who it said is also due to receive a GBP1m share-in-success payment. Heathrow said no staff will be taking a bonus this year. <br/>