Glasgow Airport staff balloted for strike action in dispute over 'derisory' pay offer

Workers at Glasgow Airport are to be balloted on strike action in a row over pay, union officials have said.

Employees of OCS Group UK Limited will be asked about striking during the busy summer period, Unite revealed.

About 70 Unite members previously rejected an offer that would have taken their basic pay to £10.90 per hour.

Unite said that the ballot action was taken after OCS refused to offer its workforce an improved pay offer.

OCS staff assist airline passengers with mobility problems, helping with wheelchairs and ambilift vehicles at airports.

General secretary Sharon Graham said: “Unite’s members provide specialist services which are absolutely vital if some passengers are to pass through the airport safely.

“We cannot accept continued poverty pay and our members are rightly angry. Unite will always stand up for our members fighting for better pay, terms and conditions.”

The ballot opens on June 6 and closes a fortnight later on June 20.

If successful, Unite’s OCS members will strike in early July as the airport enters its busiest time of the year.

Pat McIlvogue, Unite industrial officer, said: “The OCS Group are treating their workforce with contempt.

“There has been no improvement to an original offer that would lift the basic hourly wage to £10.90.

“It’s a shameful way to treat these workers, which is why we will now ballot our members on industrial action.

“If the ballot is successful, then strike action is on the cards during a busy summer period.”

OCS Group UK Limited made a profit of £19.6m after tax for the period ending December 31 2021.

The ballot follows Unite securing a wage deal for around 250 ICTS Search workers last week which would lift basic pay by up to 11% over the course of 2023.

In April, around 250 employees of ICTS, also based at Glasgow airport, refused a 5% pay rise. The pay rise was deemed “derisory” by Unite.

Unite also remains in a pay dispute with Glasgow Airport Ltd and ABM and Falke Fire Services UK.

OCS Group UK Limited has been contacted for comment.