Passengers travelling from Stansted could face “significant disruption” as airport staff will vote on strike action.
More than 1,000 members of the Unite union, including security officers, cleaners, firefighters, maintenance staff and airport ambassadors, began being balloted on Friday (August 26) on whether to take industrial action. The ballot will close on September 19.
The strike threat follows a pay increase offer of 7.5% plus a one-off £250 payment from the airport, which was “overwhelmingly rejected” by workers.
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Unite said a 7.5% pay rise is a pay cut in real terms, as the rate of inflation is running at 12.3% and is expected to climb even higher.
During the pandemic, airport workers took a 10% reduction in pay for a year, which was extended at short notice by a further three months, the union added.
Meanwhile, executive pay for Manchester Airports Group (MAG), which owns Stansted airport, increased by 23%, it said.
The union warned industrial action would cause “significant disruption or could even close the airport”.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Stansted and MAG expected our members to make financial sacrifices during the pandemic and they expect them to do the same thing now during the cost-of-living crisis.
“Everyone is expected to tighten their belts except MAG’s rich executives. Our members won’t stand for it and they will receive Unite’s full support in fighting for a fair pay rise.”
Regional coordinating officer for Unite Mark Robinson said: “Our members consider Stansted’s pay offer to fall short of their needs to pay simple household bills.
“The company, even before the pandemic, had reduced the elements of their remuneration package.
“Passenger numbers are picking up, with Ryanair recently announcing a further 500 flights for Stansted in October.
“It is abundantly clear that the company can afford to invest in its staff and make a substantially improved offer.”
Steve Griffiths, managing director of Stansted, said: “We were surprised and disappointed to learn Unite had chosen to ballot colleagues for strike action on the grounds they consider our latest pay offer to be unacceptable.
“This is the very same pay offer we agreed with Unite, and which it strongly recommended its members voted in favour of as recently as July 20.
“We remain fully committed to working with our unions to reach an agreement that recognises the hard work and dedication of our colleagues and maintains the financial stability of the airport after the extreme challenges we faced because of the pandemic and at a time when passenger levels are still measurably lower than they were in 2019.
“At the same time, we will continue to speak directly to all our colleagues – not just those represented by the union – to talk them through the details of what we consider to be a fair and competitive offer, taking account of the severe challenges our sector has faced in recent times.”