Heathrow strike suspended ahead of pay vote

A planned strike on Tuesday by thousands of workers at Heathrow Airport has been suspended while they vote on a new pay offer.

Unite had already called off a walkout due on Monday so that talks could continue.

Some flights have been cancelled but wide-scale disruption has been averted.

Unite said it would not be revealing the details of the improved offer until its members involved in the ongoing pay dispute have had an opportunity to consider and vote on the new package.

However, the union added that strikes already announced for Friday August 23 and Saturday August 24 remained on the table until the result of the ballot was known.

A Heathrow spokesman said: “Unite will now take an improved offer to its members and we remain hopeful that we can find a resolution and stop this disruptive and unnecessary threat of strike action.

“We regret that passengers have been inconvenienced by this and urge them to contact their airline for up-to-date information on the status of their service.”

The previous pay offer was worth 7.3% over two-and-a-half years.

Heathrow said its pay package was above RPI inflation, “competitive and fair”.

“This is higher than the pay increases recently offered to public sector staff and Heathrow’s own managerial colleagues at 2.4%,” said the airport.

Unite officials and Heathrow managers have been talking since Friday under the chairmanship of the conciliation service Acas. The meetings continued throughout the weekend.