Tui has sought to assure holidaymakers that contingency plans are in place to limit disruption caused by an all out strike at Birmingham airport from tomorrow (Tuesday).
A growing number of security officers and terminal technicians plan to start continuous action from July 18.
The workers rejected a renewed 10.5% pay offer from the airport last week.
The Unite union claimed that the walk outs will “severely impact” Birmingham airport’s security and terminal maintenance operations leading to delays for carriers such as Tui Airways, EasyJet, Wizz Air, Ryanair, Lufthansa and Emirates.
The union warned on Friday that impact of the action will be increased after a High Court ruling banning agency workers.
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Following the government’s decision to reverse the ban on employers hiring agency workers during strike action last July, a group of trade unions including Unite, challenged the decision through a judicial review coordinated by the TUC.
The High Court on Friday upheld the unions’ judicial review. The 2022 amendment to the regulations has now been quashed due to the government’s failure to consult prior to implementing their proposals, as required by legislation.
Employers will be barred from recruiting agency workers to undermine legal strike action from August 10, according to Unite.
The union’s general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This is a total vindication for unions and workers. The government’s decision to allow employers to recruit agency workers to undermine legal strike action was a cynical move to back their friends in business and weaken workers’ legal rights to withdraw their labour.
“It was entirely counterproductive as, rather than weaken industrial action, it has hardened attitudes and unnecessarily extended strikes.
“Birmingham airport should be aware that this will happen if it decides to use strike breakers in the short time it has to use them before the strikes begin and the ban comes into place. The only way this dispute will be resolved is with an acceptable offer from the company.”
Unite regional officer Sulinder Singh added: “Our members have rejected the renewed offer put forward by Birmingham airport. For a security guard working shifts earning £11.30 an hour, the deal would have taken their hourly rate to just £12.49. The offer did not reflect the financial strain our members are under, nor would it have solved the staffing shortages at the airport.
“Birmingham must do better if it wants to end this dispute before strikes commence on 18 July. The anger over low pay is such that the number of striking workers has increased to 150 and is growing by the day.”
Tui said: “We are aware of the upcoming strikes at Birmingham airport from Tuesday 18th July. During this time, we have measures in place to minimise disruption for our customers as much as possible.
“We would like to reassure our customers that we are working with the airport on contingency plans to make their journey through the airport as smooth as possible.
“We will be in touch directly with our customers with any further information about their flight as soon as possible.”
An airport spokesperson said: “To minimise potential disruption caused by the strike action, Birmingham airport is acting immediately, together with its airline partners, to limit the impact on holidaymakers.
“All customers are being asked to closely follow advice from their airlines on arrival times at the airport. In addition, we are asking customers to put as much hand luggage as possible into the aircraft hold to limit the volume of items subject to pre-flight security checks and so minimise delays.
“Should strike action continue through the summer, Birmingham airport will act to ensure disruption is minimised so customers can still enjoy their well-earned summer holidays.
“It is regrettable that we have reached this position, and we remain committed to resolving this dispute and avoid inflicting damaging strike action on Birmingham airport customers.
“We would urge union members to reconsider their position and continue the collective effort from all colleagues in helping the airport recover from the pandemic and giving customers consistently great service.”
Tui added that it was also working with Gatwick “to ascertain any potential impact on our customers” from strikes threatened by Unite at the airport between July 28-August 1 and August 4-8.
The operator said: “We would like to reassure our customers that we will be in touch with them directly once we have any further information.”
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