UK airports face strike

Workers, including fire fighters, security staff, engineers and support staff at UK airports run by BAA, have voted for industrial action due to a dispute over pay, reported Dow Jones Newswires.

The move could mean a shutdown of BAA's UK airports, including London Heathrow and London Stansted, which would be the biggest disruption to travel to and from the country since volcanic ash clouds shut most of European airspace for a time in April.

The union said it would meet with shop stewards Monday to decide on the next move.

Under UK law, the union must give BAA a week's notice of strike action and so a strike could begin as early as August 23, ahead of the UK's August holiday the following weekend.

The union balloted 6,185 staff including security staff, engineers, firefighters and support staff at BAA's six UK airports – Heathrow, Stansted, Southampton, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh.

BAA is owned by a consortium headed by Spain's Grupo Ferrovial.
The union said members voted three to one in favour of strike action, although just under half of those balloted actually voted.

The two sides are disputing a pay offer for the affected airport workers.
(Source:www.cargonewsasia.com)