Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) is to furlough 250 employees on full pay.
With many airlines making drastic cuts to flight schedules due to the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, the large majority of security, car parking, cleaning and passenger assistance staff are no longer needed.
Employees who are represented by trade union Unite collectively challenged the original scheme set out by LBA that did not offer 100% pay. Furloughed staff will now receive an additional 20% on top of the 80% pay offered under the government’s job retention scheme.
LBA has also committed to making no redundancies. In addition to this, when employees return to work they will receive overtime rates, capped at 84 hours.
Karl Stephenson, regional officer at Unite, said: “Employees are being furloughed on 100% of their pay and Unite has achieved assurances of no redundancies at Leeds Bradford Airport.
“Unite achieved this deal because the members collectively challenged the original scheme and credit must also go to management for working constructively to reach an agreement with Unite.
“The deal underlines the importance of trade union membership at this time. Workers are stepping up to the challenge posed by the current health crisis and Unite is securing collective agreements to support workers in these uncertain times.”
A spokesperson at LBA said: “We are all working together in these unprecedented times for the benefit of staff, businesses and passengers.”