A row between air traffic controllers and Highlands and Islands Airports (HIAL) has been referred to the UK government after negotiations yesterday failed to bring a meaningful outcome.
At a meeting yesterday, both HIAL and the Prospect Union, who represent controllers threatening to take industrial action, agreed to refer the matter to the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas), a non-departmental public body of the UK government, as talks reached a stalemate.
David Avery, Prospect negotiations officer, said: “Members’ demands are reasonable and they need to be addressed.
“Members are not, as has been alleged by the company, seeking pay parity with Heathrow or Gatwick, but rather with other smaller airports.
“They have had a decade of below-inflation pay rises while the rest of the industry, in response to a global shortage of controllers, has moved ahead.
“We urge Ministers to free their officials’ hands and give them scope to come to us with a proposal to resolve the dispute and avert the strike action.”
The meeting in Inverness marked the third time the two organisations have met since members of the Prospect union voted overwhelmingly to implement industrial action in a bid to achieve their desired pay increase.
The dispute has ravaged on after air traffic controllers rejected a 2% pay rise last year, instead, seeking 10% to bring their wages level with colleagues from across the UK.
A spokesman for state-owned HIAL said: “As it stands the claim from the trade union remains a minimum of a double-digit increase effective from April 1, 2018.
“At this point, it has not been possible to reach an agreement with the trade union on their pay dispute. Therefore, HIAL and Prospect have agreed to refer the matter to ACAS in a bid to resolve the matter.”
HIAL claim a joint report conducted by the organisation and the Prospect Union found no evidence of a significant pay differential for controllers when compared to similar airports in stature to the HIAL estate.
The first date for disruption and inconvenience is scheduled to take place on Friday April 26, with action short of a strike beginning Monday April 1 for the duration of summer.
