Security guards at Heathrow Airport will launch a three-day strike on Thursday, the same day workers at London tourist attractions and other sites across the city will walk out, both over pay disputes.
Members of the Unite union have already held 15 days of strikes, including over the busy Easter period.
Heathrow said it has contingency plans in place to keep the airport open and operating as usual, and added that passengers can expect to have a “smooth” half-term getaway.
“Passengers should not be concerned about strike action by Unite over the half-term getaway,” Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said.
“The 15 days of strike action over the Easter peak and coronation weekends have had no impact on the smooth running of the airport, and passengers have not noticed any difference from the normal great service they expect at Heathrow.
“These strikes are completely unnecessary. When I speak to colleagues, the overwhelming message is that they just want to vote on our pay offer, but Unite won’t let them.
“We made a generous 10 per cent offer early on, to make sure colleagues got a substantial increase when they needed it most. Unite’s delays mean non-union colleagues, as well as the majority of colleagues who are union members, who voted to accept our previous offer are losing out.”
Summer 2022 Heathrow Airport chaos – in pictures
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Long queues, cancellations and luggage problems have plagued Heathrow Airport since the travel sector’s comeback from coronavirus restrictions. Bloomberg -
The airport has struggled to cope with a volume of more than 100,000 departing passengers a day, with bags arriving late, queues snaking through terminals and flights being cancelled at the 11th hour. Reuters -
Travelling through Heathrow has been a dire experience for some of late. AP -
Suitcases uncollected at Heathrow's Terminal 3 baggage reclaim. AFP -
There is a shortage of staff after many people were laid off during the pandemic. AP -
Heathrow rejects the accusation of having failed to prepare, saying it started recruiting extra staff last November. AP -
Baggage piles up outside Terminal 2 at Heathrow in June. Baggage issues have bedevilled the airport, with a combination of staff shortages and malfunctioning automated baggage handling systems contributing to the mayhem. Reuters -
One traveller shows his disappointment while waiting in a long queue to pass through a security check in June. Getty Images -
Passengers queue to check in at Terminal 5. Bloomberg -
A queue snakes through the airport. Getty Images -
A waiting passenger decides to get some sleep in Terminal 5. Reuters -
Long queues form through a terminal. PA -
A crowded check in area in Terminal 2 in April. Heathrow rejects the accusation of having failed to prepare, saying it started recruiting months ago. PA -
A dejected looking passenger queues for check-in ahead of the Easter Bank Holiday weekend at Heathrow in April. Reuters -
People queuing to go through security at Heathrow. PA -
Queues at arrivals in Heathrow in March. Photo: Sven Kili / Twitter
May half-term is always a busy time for travel, and Heathrow said it may take a little longer than usual to get through security, but added this will be “well managed and kept flowing”.
Unite said Heathrow security officers are paid less than workers at other major airports in London and the south-east.
“There is absolutely no justification for security officers at Heathrow being paid far less than comparable officers at other London airports,” Regional co-ordinating officer Wayne King said.
“Heathrow regularly trumpets how successful it is as the UK’s premium airport so there is no defence in it paying bargain-basement wages.
“Heathrow can clearly meet a cost-of-living increase for our members; they’re deliberately choosing not to, pushing our members deeper into financial difficulties.”
Decades of flight: Heathrow through the years – in pictures
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Heathrow Airport in London, the UK's busiest, has been a travel hub for decades. Here The National takes a look back at Heathrow through the years. All photos: Getty Images -
An Airco De Havilland biplane of the British airline, Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited, about to leave on the company’s inaugural flight from Hounslow Heath Aerodrome, later known as Heathrow, to Le Bourget, Paris, in August 1919 -
Waterlogged runways at London Airport - Heathrow's original name - one week before it became Britain's main aerial gateway to the US in 1946 -
The new BOAC maintenance headquarters at London Airport circa 1955 -
The air traffic control room at the airport's new terminal in 1955 -
US film star Marilyn Monroe with her husband, playwright Arthur Miller, after arriving at the airport in July 1956 -
An aerial view showing the runways in 1958 -
The arrivals and departures board in 1960 -
A new airport gift shop, selling items by Chanel, Wedgwood and Pringle of Scotland, in 1961 -
The Queen's Building and the No. 1 Building Europa at Heathrow in 1965 -
The Beatles leave Heathrow for Salzburg in Austria, to resume filming of the movie Help!, in 1965 -
Passenger terminal gates at Heathrow in 1966 -
Keith Granville, managing director of BOAC, holding up a model of the Boeing 747 jet, with the new aircraft hangars under construction in the background, at Heathrow in 1969 -
An aerial view of Heathrow in 1970 -
Passengers boarding the first BOAC Jumbo Jet 747 used for a commercial flight, from London Heathrow to New York, in 1971 -
Passengers going through the departure lounge at Heathrow in 1973 -
Concorde takes off from Heathrow on her first commercial flight for British Airways in 1976 -
Men at work finalising the Heathrow Central underground station before its opening in 1977 -
Queen Elizabeth II passing though the Tube gates at Heathrow Central station on its opening in 1977 -
An aerial view of Heathrow in 1978 -
Passengers waiting near a departures board in 1979 -
Holidaymakers waiting in the departure lounge at Terminal 3 of Heathrow in 1981 -
British Airways employees protesting at Heathrow in 1984 -
Passengers and staff observe a silence in Heathrow's Terminal One to mark the beginning of the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997 -
Rower Steve Redgrave at Heathrow with daughters Sophie and Natalie and son Zak after returning from the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games with his gold medal -
Spectators watch the last Concorde land at Heathrow in 2003 -
Fans surround the coach carrying the England rugby team at Heathrow, as they arrived from Sydney after winning the World Cup in 2003 -
Heathrow's Terminal 2 in 2004 -
Passengers queue to check in at Terminal 1 of Heathrow Airport during the Christmas 2006 and New Year period -
Passengers wait at Terminal 1 on August 10, 2006, after airport security was raised to critical when a terrorist plot to blow up planes in mid-flight from the UK to the US was disrupted by police -
Planes queueing to take off at Heathrow in 2007 -
The new Terminal 5 at Heathrow in 2008 -
Aircraft at Heathrow Airport in front of the London skyline in 2016 -
Members of Team GB arrive from Rio de Janeiro at Heathrow, after returning from the 2016 Olympics, which saw Great Britain's strongest performance at the Games in over a century -
A composite photo shows planes taking off from Heathrow in November 2016. Forty-two planes were captured between 10.17am and 11.17am and a montage was created from those single images -
Items are arranged during an auction preview at Heathrow in 2018. The contents of Terminal 1, which closed in 2015, were being sold -
An airline passenger wearing a face mask pushes her bags through Heathrow's Terminal 5 during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 -
British Airways employees welcome Olympians returning from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 -
Travellers wait in a long queue to pass through the security check in 2022
GMB members at London tourist attractions walk out
Meanwhile, Members of the GMB union will mount picket lines on Thursday outside the Barbican Centre; Guildhall School of Music & Drama; City of London School for Girls; London Metropolitan Archives; Smithfield Market; Tower Bridge; Old Bailey; London Port Health Authority and other sites.
The union said more than 900 workers employed by the City of London Corporation will walk out for 24 hours after voting overwhelmingly for a strike.
“These people are working in one of the richest places on the planet,” said Anna Lee, GMB London region organiser.
“All they are asking for is a decent pay rise to help with the cost of living.
“It’s a scandal they have to close major tourist attractions just to get their voices heard by City of London Corporation bosses, but that’s what it’s come to.
“GMB calls on the City of London Corporation to properly value and respect their staff and return to the negotiating table.”
A City of London Corporation representative said: “Our 2022-23 pay award gave all full-time employees at least £2,300 ($2,845) extra. In our view, it addressed the challenges staff face in the fairest way possible, while ensuring we met our statutory duty to deliver a balanced budget.
“We appreciate how difficult it is for many people in the current economic climate and our one-off winter payment of £1,000 provided in October gave real, practical support to all our staff to help them cope with the cost-of-living crisis.
“This amount has now been confirmed as consolidated into base pay during 2023-24.
“The minimum pay increase awarded last year meant our lowest paid staff – those most affected by the cost-of-living crisis – received an increase of over 12 per cent.
“Providing the inflation-matching pay increase demanded by the unions would result in significant cuts to services, including making a considerable number of redundancies.”
