One of the UK's main airports is poised for possible strike action amid a vote over a pay dispute. Unions have warned of significant disruption if a walkout over pay goes ahead at Stansted Airport.
More than 1,000 firefighters, maintenance staff, security officers and cleaners have been balloted on a possible strike in protest. The vote closes on September 19 after Unite union members rejected an offer of 7.5 per cent along with a £250 one-off handout.
Unite said the offer fell well short of what was necessary to maintain the living standards of members. The airport is the fourth busiest in the UK, serving more than 160 destinations worldwide.
Stansted is the main UK base for no-frills airline Ryanair and its boss Michael O'Leary said it would attempt to "work around" any dispute. He admitted there may be disruption to flights if the walk-out goes ahead but was confident it would escape the worst of any problems, Travel Weekly reports.
He said: "There may be some disruption. But if there is a strike at Stansted, we’ll work our way around it.”
Ryanair has not suffered the same problems experience by rivals who have experienced staff shortages among ground handling teams, employed by third-party operators. Mr O’Leary added: “We’ve had none of the cancellations other airlines have. We do self-handling at Stansted and Dublin.
“We operate at 21 UK airports and the only two we had problems with at the start of the summer were Manchester and Gatwick. They have largely fixed that.”
But he admitted wage and inflation pressures were beginning to impact. He said: "It is beginning to bite, particularly in the UK. We see pressure in airport handling and junior cabin crew.
“You may see more labour discontent. Industrial action will be with as in some form or another since we operate at more than 100 airports around Europe.”
Ryanair managed to avoid large scale job cuts during the pandemic by negotiating substantial pay cuts with unions. Mr O’Leary said: “We’re gradually negotiating pay restoration and increases.”
