Impact of Birmingham Airport strikes to be more severe after High Court ruling banning agency workers, union warns

Following the government’s decision to reverse the ban on employers hiring agency workers during strike action in July 2022, a group of trade unions including Unite, challenged the decision through a judicial review coordinated by the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

The High Court has now upheld the unions’ judicial review.

Employers will be barred from recruiting agency workers to undermine legal strike action from August 10.

The workers, who are members of Unite, will begin all out continuous strike action from Tuesday after rejecting a renewed pay offer.

The strikes are expected to severely impact Birmingham Airport’s security and terminal maintenance operations leading to delays for carriers such as TUI, EasyJet, Wizz, Ryanair, Lufthansa and Emirates.

It will hit the peak travel season and coincide with the summer holidays, which could cause severe disruption for travellers.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This is a total vindication for unions and workers.

"The government’s decision to allow employers to recruit agency workers to undermine legal strike action was a cynical move to back their friends in business and weaken workers’ legal rights to withdraw their labour.

“It was entirely counterproductive as, rather than weaken industrial action, it has hardened attitudes and unnecessarily extended strikes. Birmingham Airport should be aware that this will happen if it decides to use strike breakers in the short time it has to use them before the strikes begin and the ban comes into place.

"The only way this dispute will be resolved is with an acceptable offer from the company.”

Unite regional officer Sulinder Singh added: “Our members have rejected the renewed offer put forward by Birmingham airport. For a security guard working shifts earning £11.30 an hour, the deal would have taken their hourly rate to just £12.49. The offer did not reflect the financial strain our members are under, nor would it have solved the staffing shortages at the airport."

Airport bosses said they were making preparations to minimise the impacts of strike action.

A spokesperson for Birmingham Airport said: “Union members have rejected a fresh pay offer of 10.5 per cent despite a recommendation to accept it from their union representatives, for whose support we are grateful.

"We continue to make preparations to minimise the impacts of strike action on our customers.

"Our advice to customers remains to arrive at the airport in line with guidance from their airline.”