Luton Airport pay win

Workers employed by Luton airport have secured a substantial pay increase following negotiations led by Unite.

The pay deal is worth £1,800 per worker and will be paid to the 600 strong workforce who are directly employed by Luton airport. The deal is worth 9.2 per cent to the security guards who are the lowest paid group of staff directly employed by the airport.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said, “Workers at Luton Airport will welcome this substantial pay increase. It is a great deal delivered by Unite. It is essential that the entire aviation sector takes a leaf from Luton’s book and starts increasing pay and improving conditions in order to make the industry attractive to thousands of new entrants.

“Unite is the union that always puts the jobs, pay and conditions of its members first and over the coming months it will be ensuring that all aviation employers pay our members a fair rate of pay,” she added.

Other workers employed by the airport who will benefit from the pay increase include: air operations, passenger service assistants, engineers, fire crews, administrators, cargo officers and baggage control.

The pay deal coincides with the airport undertaking extensive recruitment of new staff ahead of the summer season when Luton will be at is busiest.

Unite regional officer Jeff Hodge said, “This pay deal demonstrates the value of being a member of Unite. It was only by workers uniting together that this increase was secured.

“Unite will now use this agreement as the basis to secure decent rates of pay for all workers at Luton airport regardless of their employer.”

The pay increase at Luton Airport comes at a time when there are growing staff shortages throughout the aviation sector. As the sector returns to normality following the pandemic, companies are struggling to recruit workers, due to the low pay, unsocial hours and poor conditions currently on offer.

By Barckley Sumner