Nine Highland and island airports to be hit by strike action in March
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AIRPORTS across the Highlands and islands are facing possible closure from strike action on five dates in March, including two days when Inverness, the biggest and busiest, will be hit.
Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (HIAL) have revealed that the Prospect union has served notice of industrial action by fire service and security staff at the following locations and dates which may result in airport closures.
March 8, Stornoway and Sumburgh
March 9, Stornoway and Sumburgh
March 10, Barra, Benbecula, Campbeltown, Islay, Kirkwall, and Wick
March 13, Dundee, Inverness, and Islay
March 17, Dundee and Inverness
The trade union has advised that there will also be action short of a strike which will be continuous action and will start on March 18, 2023.
This will include withdrawal of good will; work to rosters; an overtime ban; refusal of non-ambulance airport opening extensions or special openings and will cause additional disruption.
HIAL said their local teams are liaising closely with airlines to determine the impact of this industrial action and the potential disruption for passengers.
Inglis Lyon, HIAL’s managing director: “We met with Prospect, Unite and PCS union representatives last Thursday, 16 February, and presented an enhanced proposal which comprised a tiered one-off non-consolidated payment on top of the percentage increase we offered before Christmas.
“The three trade unions carefully considered the proposal, but unfortunately notified us that the proposal will not be sufficient to resolve the dispute.
“We are disappointed that our proposal fell short of the unions’ expectations and apologise for the disruption this industrial action will cause for our customers and airlines.
"We remain committed to resolving this matter and have asked to meet with the union representatives next week to better understand areas of potential compromise.”
Prospect confirmed that firefighters and security staff across 10 airports are to take strike action during March in a dispute over pay.
The action comes after similar action by Unite members at HIAL earlier this month, and will cause further disruption for rural communities across Scotland.
Prospect said their members rejected a 5% pay offer in October 2022, significantly below current inflation, and since then no substantive progress has been made by the employer or Scottish Government to resolve the dispute.
Prospect has also notified HIAL that firefighters will be commencing action short of a strike after the strike actions ends on March 17 which is likely to have a significant impact on normal operations across airports.
Jane Rose, Prospect negotiation officer, said: “Our members in fire and security ensure airports across the Highlands and islands operate safely and securely for the communities and businesses that they serve. They do not deserve the substantial real terms pay cut that is currently on offer.
“Members have resisted taking action for many months in the hope of avoiding disruption to their communities. However, we are in the worst cost of living crisis in 40 years and both HIAL and Scottish Government have completely failed to try and deliver a pay increase that properly addresses that.
"As such we have no option but to take this action.
“We are calling on Scottish Government to meet urgently with us and HIAL management to fund an improved pay offer and avoid causing further impact on the remote and rural communities of Scotland.”
