Planet-Love.com Searchable Archives

For those travelling to Europe via London airports next week, a strike by airport workers is in the offing.

... in response to Heathrow and Gatwick, posted by Pordzhik on Nov 8, 2002

Ok so in the offing does this mean it is complete or it is off and running or what?  I travel threw London....

... in response to Re: Heathrow and Gatwick, posted by Ryan on Nov 8, 2002

I hear on the radio that the unions meet on monday to decide. I'll let you know what happens.

... in response to Re: Heathrow and Gatwick, posted by Ryan on Nov 8, 2002

??

... in response to Is there a New's Artical?????n/t, posted by TomTx on Nov 8, 2002

From my morning news clips at work:

LONDON (Reuters) - Firemen and security guards at seven of Britain's main airports voted Thursday to go on strike unless a pay
   offer was improved, threatening what the union said was major disruption and possible closures.

   "Stewards will meet Monday to discuss details, but there will be strikes unless the pay offer is improved and they will cause massive
   disruption at the very least," a spokeswoman for the Transport and General Workers Union told Reuters.

   "The workload has grown since since September 11, 2001, and the pay offer does not recognize this fact," she said.

   "Our members justifiably feel that the pay offer falls short of what they deserve," the union said in a statement without giving details
   of what it considered a fair deal.

   Security has been stepped up at airports around the world since the hijacked plane attacks on U.S. cities.

   The Civil Aviation Authority said the airports, which include Heathrow and Gatwick, would close if there were no firemen and
   skeleton fire crews would restrict the size and type of aircraft able to land or take off.

   "If you haven't got any firemen at all, you can't operate under CAA license conditions," a CAA spokesman told Reuters.

   The airport strikes are not connected with the impending national strike action by the fire brigades union.

   BAA Plc owns and operates the seven airports and its share price was down 1.7 percent in a flat market, while British Airways Plc,
   a major customer, were down 6 percent.

   Shares in budget airlines easyJet Plc and Ryanair Holdings Plc were also weaker. A series of one day stoppages would drag down
   the revenues of the airlines.

   The transport ministry, responsible for airport security regulation, said it would issue a statement later Thursday.

   The union spokeswoman said the strike vote had been by a margin of 2-to-1 after the firemen, security guards and terminal support
   staff rejected a pay offer $235.5 and 1.7 percent backdated to April 2002.

   A spokesman for BAA said the threatened strike action involved some 2,000 staff spread across Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted,
   Southampton, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

   "We will be holding further discussions to seek to resolve the issue," he said.

   He declined to speculate on the potential impact of strikes on the operation of the airports, but said contingency plans were in place.

... in response to Re: Is there a New's Artical?????n/t, posted by Jski on Nov 8, 2002

I hope they come up with a deal I leave Nov 15th going through Gatwick to Ukraine