Last-ditch talks in bid to avert strikes by Heathrow security guards

Last-ditch talks are to be held in a bid to avert strikes by security guards at Heathrow Airport. More than 1,400 members of Unite are due to walk out for 10 days from Friday until Easter Sunday in a dispute over pay.

Unite said flights will be disrupted if the talks on Thursday do not lead to a settlement. The union's general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The offer of new talks is to be welcomed but Heathrow’s executives have to realise that the genie is out the bottle.

“Workers can’t be expected to accept real-term pay cuts as shareholders and bosses get richer and richer. So, if the strike is to be averted there needs to be more real money put on the table to make a decent pay rise.”