Unite members at Red Handling and Redline Oil will take industrial action in the coming weeks including May half term.

There will be double the disruption at London Gatwick Airport in May and June as workers represented by Unite at two firms are set to strike, with some overlap in the industrial action.

Plane refuellers from Redline Oil Services Ltd, who work for airlines including easyJet, are walking out in a dispute about pay. Gatwick is the low-cost airline's biggest hub.

The Redline workers have voted to strike after rejecting an offer of 3.5 per cent over two years.

The two sets of four-day strikes (see notes to editors for full details) by the Redline staff, who perform essential work ensuring aircraft have the necessary fuel for their flights, will lead to cancelled and delayed flights including in the early part of the May half term - a peak travel period for Gatwick Airport. The first strike will begin on 16 May.

Meanwhile, following the Easter weekend strike by Red Handling, over a 100 workers from the company including baggage handlers, check-in staff and flight dispatchers will walk out again for four consecutive Sunday’s (see notes to editors for full dates) including those on either side of the May half term. With the first strike occurring on May 11.

The members of Unite, the UK's leading union, work for airlines including Norwegian, Delta and TAP and handle around 50 flights a day.

It comes after the workers have experienced several issues with Red Handling, including missing and incorrect pension payments or not having schemes set up and being paid their wages late which has left them in financial difficulty, as well as being unable to take proper breaks.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "Workers at both companies have had enough of poor pay offers and appalling treatment from their employers and it is little surprise they are taking strike action

"We will back our members at Red Handling and Redline all the way during these disputes."

Red Handling has also been accused of union busting tactics, such as employing agency workers to cover the last series of strikes as well as putting those who went on strike on unsatisfactory shifts and undertaking back-to-work interviews with those who took action in a bid to put them off doing this again.

Unite regional officer David Taylor said: "The way our workers have been treated by Red Handling since returning to work after the first wave of action is nothing short of a disgrace, with union busting rife at the company. Unite will not stand for it.

"Our message throughout this has been simple: pay our members their pensions and there will be no more action, but all the workers get is false promises.

"We appreciate that delays and cancellations are very frustrating for those looking to travel, especially during the half term holidays but this is a dispute entirely of Red Handling and Redline's own making. We urge them both to come back to the table for negotiations.”

ENDS

Redline members will be taking action on 16 May until 20 May and 23 May until 27 May

Red Handling members will be taking action on 11, 18, 25 May and 2 June