Government body called on in bid to avert strike over ongoing pay dispute at Highland airports
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A UK government body will be asked to help resolve an ongoing pay dispute in a bid to avert a potential strike by air traffic controllers working for Highlands and Islands Airport Limited (Hial).
The matter will be referred to the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) following talks between Hial and the Prospect union yesterday.
Members of the Prospect union are set to strike on April 26, affecting operations at Inverness Airport as well as in Dundee, Wick, Kirkwall, Sumburgh, Stornoway and Benbecula.
They will also take action short of a strike between April 1 and August 31, in a continuing disagreement over their pay offer for 2018-19.
A Hial spokesman said: “Hial again tabled discussion on a possible retention allowance for air traffic control officers. However, Prospect has indicated that this would not be its members’ preferred option and it does not believe it would address their underlying pay issues.
“As it stands the claim from the trade union remains a minimum of a double-digit increase effective from April 1, 2018.
“A report compiled jointly between Hial and Prospect on air traffic controller pay at non-Hial airports found no evidence of a significant pay differential with other comparable airports.
“At this point, it has not been possible to reach an agreement with the trade union on their pay dispute. Therefore, Hial and Prospect have agreed to refer the matter to Acas in a bid to resolve the matter.”
