Manchester Airport security staff could take strike action over the summer - depending on the outcome of crunch talks this Thursday.
According to Unite the union, workers have reacted with ‘unprecedented unrest’ to a new roster which they claim forces staff to work more days, including weekends.
Affecting around 1,200 security workers, it’s claimed staff are also struggling to take their breaks due to the pressures of the job and under-staffing.
Unite the union has now confirmed that they have started the process of preparing for a formal legal industrial ballot.
Airport bosses say they are still in discussion with the unions, and that the new rosters ‘deliver a number of benefits to a large proportion of our workforce, at the same time as giving the best possible airport experience to our 28m passengers’.
If strike action does go ahead it would be the first walk-out since 2002 and, union leaders warn, could cause ‘considerable disruption’ for passengers over the summer holidays.
It comes as government figures revealed Manchester Airport passengers were the ‘unhappiest in the country’ with their security experience last year.
On Thursday, Manchester Airports Group (MAG) bosses will meet with Unite and Unison over the rostering issues.
Lawrence Chapple-Gill, regional co-ordinating officer for Unite, said a decision on whether to ballot for strike action would depend on the outcome of those discussions.
The concerns are said to revolve around a new roster implemented on June 28.
Mr Chapple-Gill added: “It’s incredibly unpopular. Passengers may be the unhappiest in the country, but lots of our members are possibly the unhappiest in the country because of their situation at work.
“In my 10 years in this job I’ve never known such disharmony among staff. There is massive unrest. It’s the most unpopular roster change I’ve ever known.”
He said they had asked the airport to put the roster on hold while the unions held discussions with them, adding: “But they have chosen not to do so.
“So we have started the process of preparing for a formal legal industrial ballot.”
Warning strike action could cause ‘significant disruption’ for passengers over the summer period, he added: “We don’t want to be issuing ballot papers but we can’t ignore what our members are saying to us. We want to put proposals forward to try and deal with those issues to everyone’s mutual satisfaction to avoid disruption.”
On the issues surrounding the new rota, he added: “The main issue is a work-life balance. On the new rosters people are in work more, they have less time with their families.
“When they are in work, there are ridiculous amounts of people reporting not getting the breaks they should due to the pressures they are under.
“There is the view there are not enough staff with the amount of overtime being offered at short notice.
“Nobody expects any airport to run on the same roster throughout the year because they have to match the peaks, We know there will be changes. But when you change something too much, too soon, it leads to unrest.”
What the airport says...
“To ensure we have the right number of colleagues in the right places at the right times, we have carried out a review of our rosters. This is something we do twice a year every year, to help us adapt resource levels to meet changing travel patterns.
“This has involved detailed engagement with our 1,230 team members through working groups and regular communications to our colleagues and trade unions, to explain the reasons for carrying out the review and try to understand the things they would like us to consider during the process.
“That has enabled us to develop a roster system that will convert 130 part-time roles into full-time positions, provide more certainty to colleagues by reducing the percentage of the workforce on annualised hours from 25pc to 12pc and increase the number of shift patterns that give people three consecutive days off.
“We have been able to accommodate many of the issues raised by colleagues and union representatives which was achieved through active engagement at our regular roster working groups.
“We believe the new rosters deliver a number of benefits to a large proportion of our workforce, at the same time as giving the best possible airport experience to our 28m passengers.
“Furthermore, throughout the year, we make requests for overtime, as and when it is required. Having now implemented our Summer rosters, which are designed to properly align resource with demand, we would expect the need for over time to reduce, but decisions will always be based on what is best for the customer.
“We look forward to continuing our dialogue with Unite and bringing this matter to a conclusion, so that any future impact on our customers is avoided.”
