Airport workers vote on strike over pay

Thousands of workers at some of Britain's biggest airports will start voting today on whether to go on strike over pay, threatening disruption before the end of the summer holidays . This would bring further misery to millions of air travellers, who already face the threat of further strikes by British Airways cabin crew . Unite said it will begin sending out strike ballot papers to 6,185 of its members who work as firefighters, engineers and support and security staff at Heathrow, Stansted, Southampton, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh airports. They will vote over the next few weeks over what the union described as a "measly" pay offer. It said BAA, which runs the six airports and is owned by Spain's Ferrovial, is only offering a 1% pay rise, plus 0.5% conditional on changes to the sickness agreement. Workers can also earn a bonus if BAA meets financial targets. Unite's national officer for civil aviation, Brendan Gold, said: "BAA's measly pay offer is nothing short of confrontational. "Last year, staff accepted a pay freeze. Their generosity helped the company, yet BAA has returned the favour with no bonus and a 1% pay offer when inflation is currently 5%." The airport operator insists its offer is reasonable at a time when the industry is recovering from the worst slump in decades and the volcanic ash cloud disruption in the spring . It has warned that a strike would damage the UK's reputation abroad. Unite and BAA have been in talks for months. Unite officer Brian Boyd said the union was prepared to continue talking because an agreement could be reached if the company was prepared to be "fairer and more realistic". The strike ballot begins today and closes on 12 August.