Unite Securitas win

Striking Securitas first responders at Airbus Filton have secured a victory in their fight against fire and rehire changes that would have seen their pay plummet, Unite said today (December 2).

The 10 Unite members, who provide critical first response aid and other assistance during emergencies at the Airbus site, stood to lose up to £6,000 a year through a forced transfer into the site’s security unit.

After voting unanimously for strike action beginning on November 30, strikes were postponed for last minute talks between Unite and Securitas.

Strike action has now been cancelled, after the first responders voted in favour of accepting an offer from Securitas of 85 per cent of their redundancy pay as a lump sum as part of the transfer.

A skills-based payment of £3,300 a year on their new contracts has also been secured, as well as a number of bridging measures to ensure that the members are able to continue to operate effectively within the security team.

Unite regional officer Matt Allen said, “The members involved have voted overwhelmingly to accept the deal, which was achieved by rock solid collective action.

“It’s a textbook example of the power employees have when they stand together in a union and a further reminder of why workers should join Unite.

“We have always been happy to look at change and supportive of upskilling. However, we cannot allow that to be at the detriment of our members safety and pay,” Allen added.

“Unite looks forward to working cooperatively with Securitas, who took onboard our concerns and worked tirelessly to find a solution that was acceptable to our members, in the future.”

By Ryan Fletcher