Fresh Heathrow strikes announced with week of disruption set for next month

New strikes announced at Heathrow Airport are set to cause major disruption for passengers. The UK's largest airport will see 800 members striking after management announced its intention to outsource hundreds of roles in a cost-cutting exercise.

The strike action is set to begin just after midnight on Tuesday, May 7 and will end at 11.59pm on Monday, May 13, following earlier strikes. Heathrow Airport Ltd has ignored existing consultation procedures and has announced that workers in passenger services (who assist travellers to catch connecting flights), trolley operations, and campus security (the security guards who are responsible for all workers at Heathrow and vehicles being checked before entering Heathrow), will be outsourced by June 1.

The dispute covers the allocation of work to outsourced companies, the proposed change to the identity of Unite the Union's member's employer and the refusal by HAL to agree multilateral bargaining for groups of workers working at Heathrow Airport.

READ MORE: Fare dodger caught on London train and forced to pay £10k fine after nearly 5 years of evasion

The three outsourced areas are being joined in industrial action by firefighters and airside operations from HAL who recognise the impact outsourcing will have and fear they may be next in line to be outsourced. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Heathrow Airport’s actions are deplorable, it is raking in massive profits for the bosses while trying to squeeze every last penny out of its workforce.

“Unite is fully focussed on defending its members' jobs, pay and conditions and our members at Heathrow will receive the union’s unrelenting support during this dispute.” HAL has refused to enter into negotiation with Unite after stating that the company will save £40 million by using external company staff.

Unite regional co-ordinating officer Wayne King said: “Strike action will inevitably cause widespread disruption across the airport, leading to delays and disruption. However, this is a dispute that HAL has brought on itself.

“Unite is committed to ending the race to the bottom that HAL appears to be set on and that is best achieved through introducing multilateral collective bargaining on pay and conditions for groups of workers at Heathrow regardless of their employer.”

The strikes come straight after earlier strikes meaning there will be a week's worth of chaos at the airport. Heathrow have announced that Trans Dev will take over passenger services, Smarte Carte will takeover trolley operations and ICTS will takeover campus security.

Heathrow strike dates in full

The following strikes are so far scheduled at Heathrow:

• April 29 to May 2: Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) strike after claims 250 passport control jobs have been put at risk by a new Home Office roster

• May 4 to May 6: 50 Unite members at AFS Ltd, an airline refuelling company strike

• May 7 to May 13: 800 members strike after management announced its intention to outsource hundreds of roles

• May 2 to May 18: work-tu-rule period for PCS members

Get the biggest stories from around London straight to your inbox. Sign up to MyLondon's The 12 HERE for the 12 biggest stories each day.