Airport firefighters will strike

Airport chiefs say services will not be affected by the strike action

Firefighters at Glasgow Airport are to stage an indefinite strike from Saturday, 29 January in a row over safety, a union has announced.

The Transport and General Workers' Union (T&G) said its members would walk out from midday over planned changes to firefighting arrangements.

Union officials claim new measures would jeopardise safety.

Airport operator BAA said there would be no disruption to services as a result of the strike.

T&G regional officer Donald Munro said: "We have been forced into taking strike action. Management is not prioritising safety."

Talks at the conciliation service Acas have failed to resolve the dispute, which centres on firefighting arrangements outside the terminal.

We have robust contingency plans in place to safeguard the normal operation of the airport Glasgow Airport

The union claimed plans to replace the airport's firefighters with fire safety teams to deal with incidents on the airport's "land side" would increase response times from two to 14 minutes.

The firefighters have voted by 50 to seven in favour of strike action.

Airport operator BAA said there would be no disruption to services as a result of the strike, which it said was the result of an overtime dispute.

It said fire safety teams, which are already in place at Aberdeen and Edinburgh airports, were being introduced at Glasgow on the recommendation of the Civil Aviation Authority.

Stephen Baxter, managing director of Glasgow Airport, said: "Clearly, we regret the firefighters' decision but have robust contingency plans in place to safeguard the normal operation of the airport and ensure no disruption to the travelling public.

"Our decision to introduce a fire safety team is about making the airport safer for all passengers and staff and we will continue to invest more than £2m in fire safety and prevention.

"We hope to resolve the overtime issue by amicable means."