Unite Scotland has launched a ‘Save Scotland’s Airports’ campaign today amid fears that more than 2,000 jobs could be lost.
The union says Scotland’s civil aviation industry faces “immense pressure” because of the pandemic and redundancy consultations at airports in Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh (pictured) are threatening about 1,500 jobs.
The knock-on effects in the wider economy could see job losses of about 2,330, according to research conducted for the union.
The direct effect of these redundancies will be a £90 million loss to the Scottish economy, rising to £140 million when accounting for knock-on effects.
The union says Swissport, the UK’s largest ground handler, is proposing to reduce staffing levels in Scotland by 80%, from 1,000 to 200 jobs. Across the UK and Ireland, the company is cutting jobs by half, from 9,000 to 4,500 jobs.
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Unite Scotland urges its members and the public to contact MSPs in support of the union’s campaign for government intervention “to prevent the potential collapse of civil air transport infrastructure, save jobs and protect wages and terms and conditions”.
It is demanding sector-specific support for civil air transport in Scotland including the extension of the UK government’s Job Retention Scheme, and measures to protect jobs, pay and conditions.
The union also wants firms such as British Airways and Menzies Aviation to stop the “brutal attacks” on jobs under ‘fire and re-hire’ practices which it believes could cut take-home pay by up to 45%.
Pat Rafferty, Unite Scotland regional secretary, said: “The launch of the ‘Save Scotland’s Airports’ campaign by Unite is vitally important in concentrating the minds of the Scottish and UK governments on the immense pressure the civil aviation industry is under. There is a potential loss of more than 2,330 jobs and a £140 million hit to the Scottish economy in the coming weeks.
“The scale of the challenge is massive and that’s why we need all politicians to support our campaign demands which focus on the condition of protecting jobs and the terms and conditions of workers associated with any company receiving government support.”