Staff to attend disciplinary hearings

Staff resumed their strike action last week

Security workers at Belfast International Airport are to attend disciplinary hearings on Monday following an illegal strike last week.

Twenty-two of them were suspended following the action.

The workers plan to escalate their industrial action next week.

The workers said they would be going on strike for 72 hours from midnight on 28 May and they would also begin a work to rule policy.

Shop steward Gordon McNeill criticised advice he was given by the Transport and General Workers' Union about the strike.

We will now be carrying out 72-hour stoppages, we will be carrying out a work-to-rule and overtime ban

Gordon McNeill
Shop steward

He said because of the suspensions further industrial action was inevitable.

"We would now be moving for an escalation of the situation," he said.

"This is not the situation we wanted to get into, we did not want an escalation and obviously hurting the public.

"But we find there is no other road to go down. We will now be carrying out 72-hour stoppages, we will be carrying out a work-to-rule and overtime ban.

"This will obviously have a major impact on the travelling public when they are travelling through the airport."

Gordon McNeill: Union representative

Talks were held two weeks ago to try to resolve the dispute over pay and working conditions, but were unsuccessful.

Two stoppages took place last Tuesday.

Airport management said they were surprised the strike had taken place.

However, at the time Mr McNeill said staff had had enough and felt management had been "uncooperative".

Some departing flights were slightly delayed as a result of the strike.

Two days of talks over the pay dispute involving security staff at the airport took place at the Labour Relations Agency.

The talks were adjourned and both sides had been expected to meet again early last week.

However, no further talks took place.

The workers, who are employed by a firm sub-contracted to provide security at the airport, ICTS, said they had no option but to take action.