Airport staff jam bullying line

Workers were being bullied by colleagues and passengers

More than 150 cabin crew and ground staff at London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports have called a new hotline to report bullying and abuse.

The complaints came in over a two-week period, said union Amicus.

The trade union said most of the callers were from ethnic minorities alleging racist behaviour.

One woman said she was locked in a cold store to "teach her a lesson" after complaining a colleague had touched her inappropriately.

Anti-bullying commitment

Another caller said he was told by a colleague: "Don't they teach you to read and write in the jungle?"

Amicus national officer Gordon White said: "Bullying is a disaster for morale, attendance and productivity.

"We are calling upon employers to get their houses in order for the sake of their staff and their business.

"We will be writing to employers and we expect them to work with the union to boot the bullies out of airports."

BAA commitment

Amicus launched the service in July to give advice to cabin crew, engineers and ground staff, who it said were being forced to work very long hours.

Union officials said more workers were seeking help after bullying by managers, passengers and colleagues.

BAA, which owns the airports, said it was committed to eradicating bullying.

The Health and Safety Executive estimated the number of incidents of violence experienced by workers in England and Wales was 849,000 in 2002/03, according to the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

A TUC survey of public, private and voluntary sector employees found workplace bullying contributes to the loss of 18 million working days every year.