Heathrow summer strike threat lifted as improved pay deal agreed

The threat of serious disruption to travel at the UK’s busiest airport this summer has receded after staff at London Heathrow accepted a revised pay offer. More than 2,000 members of the Unite trade union working as security staff at Heathrow on Friday cancelled a series of planned strikes. They had been due to walk out on a total of 31 days over summer in a dispute over pay. But the problems facing England’s NHS deepened as junior doctors announced the longest strike in health service history. Tensions escalated between the government and the British Medical Association as the union announced that doctors below consultant grade would strike for an unprecedented five days from 7am on July 13. For airport workers, the revised offer, which unions had recommended members accept, is for a 10% pay rise this year, backdated to January, which will increase by a further 1.5 percentage points to 11.5% from October. The previous offer had been a 10.1% salary increase for the whole year. Heathrow has also guaranteed its staff a pay rise for 2024 matching consumer price inflation, with a minimum increase of 4%. Unite had said the strikes, timed to coincide with the busiest days of summer leisure travel, were bound to disrupt flights, with one-day walkouts scheduled to continue until late August. Union general secretary Sharon Graham called the settlement a “hard-won victory”. Heathrow said it was pleased Unite’s members had accepted the offer. “We can now move forward together and focus on delivering an excellent summer for our passengers,” the airport said. <br/>