More than 150 Birmingham Airport security officers and terminal technicians have accepted a 13.25% pay rise, ending all planned strike action.
The one-year pay deal consists of a 10.5% consolidated and 2.75% non-consolidated rise. It also includes two new workplace representatives from trade union Unite, which represented the employees, a wider collective bargaining agreement and increased union organising access across the airport.
All-out indefinite strike action, which was due to begin on 18 July, was suspended to allow members to be balloted on this offer. Strikes would have gone ahead on Tuesday 1 August if the offer had been rejected.
The action would have impacted Birmingham Airport’s security and terminal maintenance operations leading to delays for carriers including Tui, EasyJet, Wizz, Ryanair, Lufthansa and Emirates.
A Birmingham Airport spokesperson said: “Following the rejection of the previous offer, we were very keen to move discussions to the next stage of the process outlined in our established bargaining agreement with Unite, which involves the dispute conciliation service Acas. Mediation is a tried-and-tested method of resolving disputes, proving successful in nine out of 10 cases.”
Sharon Graham, general secretary at Unite, added: “Unite’s Birmingham airport workers secured this deal because they stood strong in their union. Once again, Unite’s absolute concentration on delivering improvements to jobs, pay and conditions has paid off for our members.”
Birmingham Airport offers its staff the opportunity to invest in an employee share ownership scheme, a group personal pension plan, concessionary on-site parking, a childcare vouchers scheme, a discretionary bonus linked to company performance, up to 25% discounted travel on bus and train tickets through the Travelwise scheme, discounts on retail and catering outlets within the airport, discounted travel and holiday offers, and health referral services including occupational health and counselling services.