Unite: BAA must offer meaningful talks

Unite and Prospect union reps raised the heat on the airport operator after firefighters, security staff and safety engineers at six of the country's busiest airports, including London's Heathrow and Stansted, voted overwhelmingly to strike against a measly 1 per cent pay offer.

"BAA is doing passengers a great disservice by allowing this dispute to get to this stage," Unite national officer for aviation Brendan Gold declared.

"We are therefore calling on BAA to return to the negotiating table with a fair offer," he added.

Fellow Unite organiser Brian Boyd stressed that the union was prepared to talk at any time and explained that local union reps from the six airports, which also include Southampton, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen, would meet on Monday to discuss strike dates.

Prospect union negotiator Ben Middleton emphasised that the unions' "overriding focus will be to persuade the company that there needs to be a genuine dialogue on the way forward if we are to avoid disruption."

A strike could result in the grounding each day of 2,500 flights carrying 300,000 passengers, but BAA bosses conceded to the union's insistence on talks last night and agreed to meet at the conciliation service Acas.

Acas chief conciliator Peter Harwood confirmed that "an early meeting will be held once diaries can be cleared."