The strike threat hanging over BAA's seven UK airports has been lifted, after union representatives endorsed the deal reached with the Ferrovial on Monday over plans to close the pension scheme to new members.

Next Monday's 24-hour stoppage by 5,000 staff had already been cancelled and now the two further strikes planned for this month have now also been called off. Good news for everyone, so hopefully this will be the end of my bolgs on this subject.  However, the Virgin aircrew strike action shows no signs of reaching conciliation.  Well how would you feel receiving threatening letters about your livelyhood from Richard Branson?

Possible light at the end of the tunnel heart with perhaps both sides starting to see sense.  Why they could not in the first place I don't know?

The first of a series of new year strikes by workers at seven airports, including Heathrow and Gatwick, has been called off following a breakthrough in peace talks.  Thousands of firefighters, security and clerical workers were due to walk out for 24 hours next Monday. Annonova reports that it was to have been the first of three stoppages in protest at a decision by BAA to close its final salary pension scheme to new workers.

Following several hours of negotiations, officials from the Unite union said an agreement had been reached in principle to hold "proper consultations" over the future of the pension scheme before any changes are made. The agreement will be discussed by union representatives on Thursday but in the meantime next Monday's strike has been called off.  Further strikes planned for January 14 and January 17/18 will be called off if the deal is accepted by the union representatives on Thursday.  A union spokesman said: "The company has agreed there will be proper discussions before any decision is reached on the future of the pension scheme."

The breakthrough came after almost eight hours of talks at a secret location between leaders of Unite and the Public and Commercial Services union and officials from BAA

The latest on this dispute is that some more talks have taken place between BAA and the Union Unite and then broken down, with no further talks scheduled before the first strike is due to take place on January 7th.  The union Unite, representing disgruntled groundstaff at BAA airports has warned that all seven BAA airports face closure if the strikes, which involve crucial staff including firefighters, and security and maintenance workers, go ahead as planned. Union members voted by more than a 2:1 margin backing industrial action last week.

"As things stand, the industrial action set to begin on January 7 will go ahead," a union spokesman said, adding that BAA had refused to back down over its pensions decision. Union officials said there was still time, though, to reach agreement before the first strike, and avert travel chaos.

A BAA spokesman said the airports operator was "disappointed" the talks had not yet resolved the dispute, adding that it believes "the threat of industrial action is unnecessary because we have guaranteed that existing workers will not be affected by the change to the pension scheme."

"We will continue to do all we can to resolve this dispute since we believe that a strike would not be in the interests of our passengers or our staff."Spokesmen for both parties made the following  predictable statements.

It is interesting that Ferrovial who now own BAA have had their name kept well away from all the mud slinging.  My theory is that they will drive the BAA workers into submission by winning the PR war and getting the digruntled public to turn against the groundstaff.  They can afford to have the BAA name and brand further tarnished  because later in 2008 once the dispute is over and Heatrow terminal five is open they will rebrand to Ferrovial.  It is amazing that a company can have the worst airports in the world and still make massive profits.  But hey that's capitilism for you.

Talks aimed at averting a series of New Year strikes at airports including Heathrow and Gatwick ended without agreement last night.
No further dates for negotiations between airports operator BAA and Britain's biggest trade union Unite were scheduled, as a row over BAA's decision to close its final salary pension scheme to new employees continued.  Unite has said that the decision was made by BAA's Spanish owner Ferrovial without its input. Thompson financial reported.

Two 24-hour strikes, on January 7 and 14, and a 48-hour walkout on January 17 are set to hit all of BAA's airports: London's Heathrow, Gatwick, and Stansted,  Southampton in southern England, and Scotland's Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen airports.

Unite has warned that all seven face closure if the strikes, which involve crucial staff including firefighters, and security and maintenance workers, go ahead as planned, after union members voted by more than a 2:1 margin backing industrial action last week.  'As things stand, the industrial action set to begin on January 7 will go ahead,' a union spokesman said, adding that BAA had refused to back down over its pensions decision.

Union officials said there was still time, though, to reach agreement before the first strike, and avert travel chaos in the country -- Heathrow alone is used by an average of 185,000 travellers each day, while Gatwick serves a further 93,000 daily.

In summary. 

BAA staff on strike on Jan 7, 14, 17, 18. Major disruption to services to BAA airports expected. There's a chance the strikes may be cancelled/postponed, so keep watching the news and updates.

Virgin Atlantic cabin crew striking on Jan 9, 10, 16, 17. Virgin hoping to operate all scheduled services except 3-4 on each day. First day almost certain to go ahead, further striking dependant on negotiation.

The Guardian reports on the latest developments... . 

BAA was holding out for an amicable solution to the dispute yesterday and asked for the "understanding of passengers" as it continued talks with union representatives.

British Airways, BAA's largest airline, told travellers not to cancel bookings: "We are speaking to BAA to understand its operational contingency plans if industrial action goes ahead. We have not cancelled any flights at this stage, and therefore we aim to operate as normal." However, the world's busiest international airport, Heathrow, will close if the strikes take place. The majority of staff who voted to strike are deployed on security checkpoints, plus firefighters whose presence is mandatory in an airport.

It is expected BAA will be unable to recruit auxiliary guards or firefighters from the army - an idea mooted during the airport security crackdown in 2006 - because they are not trained to use x-ray machines or to handle civilian aircraft.

BAA's other UK airports are: Stansted, Southampton, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Newcastle. Its terminals account for nearly two-thirds of all airport arrivals and departures in the UK.

The Association of British Travel Agents said that it would work with airlines to ensure that holidaymakers got to their destinations. An ABTA spokeswoman said: "Other non-BAA airports such as Luton, Birmingham and Manchester may be able to help out."

Its official!  It looks like major misery for travellers to the UK in the New Year.  The Times reports that airport workers at seven airports in England and Scotland voted to strike three times in January in a dispute over pensions.  Unite, the trade union representing firefighters and security staff at the BAA-owned airports, said that its membership was angered by the Spanish-owned airport group's decision to close its salary pension schedule to new entrants.

Unite's National Aviation Secretary Brendan Gold said the strike could close all seven airports. "There will be huge disruption," he told a news conference. Union member will stage three strikes: two 24-hour walkouts starting at 0100 EST on January 7 and January 14 and a further 48-hour strike from 0600 GMT on January 17.

The union's members include fire crews, maintenance workers, clerical staff and security staff.  The strike will affect Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Southampton, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen airports. BAA, owned by Spain's Ferrovial, said it regretted the action and would do all it could to minimize disruption to passengers.

Giving an indication of the possible scale of disruption the Independant reports as follows;

By far the busiest and biggest of the airports is Heathrow in west London where British Airways alone would operate about 550 arriving and departing flights a day in January.

All told, Heathrow handles around 1,350 flights a day, with enticing long-haul destinations such as the Caribbean, Australasia and South Africa particularly popular for holidaymakers wanting to escape the dark and cold of January in the UK.

The second-biggest UK airport for BAA is Gatwick in West Sussex. Gatwick is scheduled to handle 87,000 passengers on 682 flights on January 7 which is the first of the planned strike days.

On the second strike day of January 14 Gatwick would handle 82,000 passengers on 646 flights, with 80,000 passengers due to pass through the airport on January 17 when 628 flights are planned, and 650 flights and 78,000 passengers due on January 18..

The third of the BAA London airports is Stansted in Essex which on a typical January day will handle around 50,000 to 60,000 passengers. Both Glasgow and Edinburgh airports in Scotland are likely to handle around 20,000 passengers on the strike days.

Around 5,000 a day are likely to travel to and from Aberdeen airport which would typically handle around 220 flights a day in January, including trips to off-shore installations.

The results of a ballot of  5000 workers employed by BAA will be announced tomorrow Friday. The union, Unite, could launch strike action just seven days later.  Meanwhile,Virgin Atlantic cabin crew are to stage two 48-hour strikes in the New Year the airline has announced. 

Unite said its members will walk out at 6am on January 9 and again at 6am on January 16 after voting for industrial action.
Unite said thousands of its members will walk out at 6am on January 9 and again at 6am on January 16

The workers voted by 1,497 to 605 to back strikes, a majority of around 70 per cent. The union balloted 3,100 workers, with around two- thirds taking part in the voting.

Unite said it was the first time in the airline's history that cabin crew voted to strike, which showed the strength of feeling over pay.

Virgin said it will do everything it can to get passengers to their destinations.

Unite national officer Brian Boyd said: "Virgin Atlantic's cabin crew have voted for strike action for the first time in the airline's history.  "They've not taken this decision lightly. They are a world-class crew who've been undervalued for too long. They are seeking a long-term solution to pay which recognises their loyalty and professionalism.   "Unite is calling on Virgin Atlantic to get back around the negotiating table to get through this impasse and avoid disruption in the New Year."

Steve Ridgway, chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, said: "We would like to reassure passengers that our flying programme is operating as normal at this time, and will continue to do so over the Christmas and New Year period.

"We are disappointed that some of our cabin crew have voted this way but we will do everything we can to get our passengers to their destinations during the threatened industrial action. "It is surprising that Unite has taken this step of calling action when they had previously helped to put together the deal and strongly recommended that its members accept it.  "Virgin Atlantic cabin crew put their heart and soul into their work and can be truly proud of what they've achieved.  "However, there comes a time when good management has to draw a line in the sand in the interests of all employees. There will be no 11th hour change to our pay offer."

Meanwhile Unite seems confident of BAA groundstaff voting in favour of action.   Voting closes today and the result is expected to be announced on Friday.

On the face of it this strike could easily be resolved. The issues are not insurmountable for either side to find an accommodation. However, it looks very much like BAA has become a very distant and not well engaged employer. This is probably due to the amount of senior UK management that have left or be forced to leave the company in the last nine months.

Right now it would seem that they (BAA that is Ferrovial) are hoping that public opinion will turn against their workers and the union rather than themselves ( a seemingly faceless distant Spanish company). This situation could be very distressing to thousands who have made special plans with their families over the holiday period. But typically again this is the result of ruthless faceless capitalism with the workers as victims and made to be the bad guys. 

Brendan Gold, Unite national officer, said: "BAA has just posted profits of over £500 million and the Spanish owners Ferrovial have seen their profits rise by nearly 60 per cent. It is clear that the pension scheme is financially sound, and should be left alone." Mr Gold said BAA and Ferrovial should understand that the workforce has lost trust in them. Not allowing new employees to join the company's final-salary pension scheme after December 1 was viewed as being the first step in the axing of the whole scheme for everyone.

The strike ballot covers Unite members at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Southampton, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. The union warned that if industrial action does take place, it is "inevitable" that airports affected will be closed. A nameless source at BAA said it regretted the union's threat of industrial action, describing it as "unnecessary". Is that it? Your views on a postcard please.

Welcome to Hell.  The perfect storm for travellers is brewing this holiday period.

-Meteoroligist's  are predicting a white Christmas.
-Possible strike action by security, admin and fire-fighter staff at seven of Britain's main airports run by operator BAA - Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Southampton, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen - from as early as December 2.  
-Plus a strike threat by 3,200 Virgin Atlanic cabin crew from as early as December 27 are the festive ingredients for misery.

So take these possiblities, then add on these following facts and you will probably decide to rip up your airline tickets and stay at home.  Heathrow will handle 3.3 million passengers over the Christmas and New year period. This is 100,000 more than last year.
Last year Heathrow suffered massive disruption last year because of fog.
Even without the strike threat there is the prospect of immigration delays because of the extra time needed to use the new scanners for passports. This has led to the Home Office bringing former border officials out of retirement to ease the workload.

Of course non of this may happen, no snow and ice, no strikes, no immigration delays, no overcrowding.  But whatever, happens don't forget..Peace and Goodwill to all Men (and Women).

Over a million air travelers could be effected by potential industrial action this Christmas and new year.  Virgin aircrew are currently at loggerheads with their management over claims of continued pay disparity.  The Unite union is asking more than 3,000 Virgin Atlantic cabin crew members for their views on a possible strike,  arguing that their pay lags behind that of British Airways employees.

The ballot is scheduled to close on December 20th, which is the same day that a separate BAA strike ballot is due to close. The BAA dispute concerns the opposition to the closure of the company pension scheme.

BAA operates major UK airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
A Unite spokesman said."This raises the prospect of severe airport and airline disruption early in the new year," 
A BAA spokesman said: "BAA regrets the union's threat of industrial action, particularly in the Christmas period. It is unnecessary and it fails to put the interests of passengers first."

The union is legally required to give seven days' notice before taking industrial action, meaning no strike could take place until after Boxing Day.