Airstrike with a difference
An unofficial strike by Heathrow ground staff is causing disruption for travellers. But the real news is that the strike is about something worthwhile.
Staff at in-flight caterers Gate Gourmet rejected a restructuring deal that would have led to hundreds of job losses, cuts in pay and worse working conditions. It would seem that the company took on 130 seasonal workers while still threatening permanent staff with redundancy. When the permanent staff organised a sit-in protest, around 500 were sacked on the spot. Within a day or so, other staff at Heathrow stopped work in protest.
High-profile strikes have become rarities in Britain today. As a result, the role of trade unions has changed dramatically. Where once they organised on the basis of defending jobs and pay, unions have taken an increasingly conservative role, promoting risk awareness in the workplace, or undertaking litigation on behalf of individuals. It is no surprise, then, that the original decision to reject the company's restructuring package was against union advice and that the current strike action is unofficial - in other words, not sanctioned by the union leadership, which is bending over backwards to try to get staff back to work.
Even more than before, the old trade unions have become a barrier to workers taking effective action to defend their livelihoods. It would be nice to think that we might see a bit more of this kind of independent action in the future.
12,000 go without food on BA flights, Mirror, 11 August 2005
See also: Rumblings at Heathrow, spiked, 23 August 2005