Following the conclusion of a ballot process, Unite members at Glasgow Prestwick Airport have voted in favour of a pay offer and will not be taking strike action as planned.
The trade union secured significant improvements to the pay, terms and conditions of over 80 members. On average workers will receive a pay uplift of around £1,500 and for some workers up to £2,000 over the year.
Unite represents workers including airport security, firefighters, airfield operators, ground crew, ground handling, cargo, customer services and cleaners at Prestwick Airport.
The deal, backdated to 1 April, includes a basic 6.5% wage increase, two extra days annual leave and a one-off £250 payment.
There are also improvements to sick pay provision and on-call payments. Unite has further ensured that the Real Living Wage of £9.90 per hour will be paid as a minimum to all airport workers.
The pay deal follows weeks of negotiations facilitated by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) involving both parties. As a gesture of goodwill, Unite suspended strike action scheduled to begin on 12 August to allow talks to continue, which led to a new offer being put forward by Prestwick Airport management.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This deal only came about because our members took the brave stance of taking strike action - they should be proud of their action in securing this deal which has delivered better jobs, pay and conditions.”
By 78% on an 84% turnout, Unite members supported strike action at Prestwick Airport in July.
Prestwick is a cargo base and hosts significant numbers of military flights and refuels from North America, along with domestic and international commercial flights.
The airport was taken into public ownership in November 2013 after being purchased by the Scottish Government for £1.
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