Stansted airport ground staff set to strike

Stansted airport is to be hit by seven days of strike action by ground staff belonging to the GMB union.

The action, by staff employed by ground service company Swissport, includes stoppages over the Queen's Diamond Jubilee bank holiday weekend at the beginning of June.

The first of the stoppages, in a dispute over rosters, will be from 5.30am on Wednesday to 5.30am on Thursday.

There will also be strikes from 5.30am on Saturday until 5.30am on Monday May 28 and from 5.30am on Saturday June 2 until 5.30am on Wednesday June 6.

The June 2-6 strike includes the two Jubilee bank holiday days of Monday June 4 and Tuesday June 5.

GMB suspended threatened strike action earlier this year over the introduction of new rosters which the union said would have led to a reduction in incomes of members after the company agreed to enter talks. Talks broke down last Friday.

GMB organiser Gary Pearce said: “GMB negotiators have been in talks to reach an agreement to resolve this issue since the agreed suspension of the strike action scheduled over Easter.

“It is a shame that Swissport has made and then withdrawn a number of proposals including a return to the original four-days-on and two-days-off roster which would have settled the dispute. The proposals were withdrawn last Friday.”

The Conservatives said the GMB had donated more than £2.5 million to Labour since Ed Miliband was elected Labour leader.

Conservative co-chairman Baroness Warsi added: "Ed Miliband's union paymaster wants to ruin the Jubilee weekend for hard-working families. He must get off the fence and condemn these unnecessary strikes now."

PA