Industrial action at British Airways could spread further across the UK as unions consult with more workers over whether to stage strikes over pay.
About 700 mostly check-in staff at Heathrow Airport have already voted to strike over the summer holidays.
But the GMB and Unite unions are also consulting engineers and call centre staff at Gatwick, Glasgow, Manchester and Newcastle on taking action.
BA said it was “fully committed to work together to find a solution”.
On Wednesday, hundreds of BA workers backed strike action over a 10% pay cut introduced during the pandemic.
The airline has offered staff a one-off payment, equal to 10% of their salary, but GMB members at Heathrow want the full pay cut reversed.
BA stated that it made a “offer of a 10% payment that was accepted by the majority of other colleagues.” According to the BBC, this includes ground operations, engineering, and cabin crew employees, who are also represented by Unite and GMB.
The wider consultation ballot is separate to the Heathrow issue and about wider concerns over pay.
According to a GMB spokesman, “thousands of BA engineers at Heathrow, Gatwick, and in Scotland, as well as call centre staff in Newcastle and Manchester, are in the midst of a consultative ballot for possible industrial action in a pay dispute.”
“I don’t think this will stop with customer check-in staff,” GMB general secretary Gary Smith told BBC Breakfast. Many of our members across the BA business are sick and tired of the company’s cutbacks.
“They’ve seen the company run into the ground for many years, they’re very angry about the cynical exploitation of the pandemic by the people at the top of BA, and they want to see the pay and conditions restored.”
The consultation is being held to gauge turnout and what action workers may wish to take. It is the stage before a formal ballot on industrial action is held.
Holidaymakers and other travellers may face delays if check-in workers at Heathrow and BA are unable to reach an agreement.
