600 Menzies Aviation ground service workers to ballot unless new offer tabled 

Ground services crew employed by Menzies Aviation at Edinburgh and Glasgow airports have overwhelmingly rejected pay offers as Unite says summer strike action looms over the nation’s largest airports. 

Around 600 workers including dispatchers, allocators, airside agents and controllers have rejected two separate pay offers by Menzies Aviation at each airport. 

In the region of 300 Menzies Aviation workers emphatically rejected a basic uplift worth around 4.25 per cent at Glasgow airport.

By an emphatic 100 per cent, around 300 workers based at Edinburgh airport also rejected an offer worth around four per cent. 

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Unite’s Menzies members have emphatically rejected unacceptable pay offers. The Menzies group is posting sky-high profits and our members who contribute towards this success deserve far better from the company.” 

The Menzies ground handling and passenger services workers provide essential support for a host of major airlines including American, United, British Airways, Aer Lingus, Emirates Lufthansa, Loganair, and AIR Transat. 

Menzies Aviation in March this year announced a “record-breaking performance” for 2024. The company stated it had achieved its fourth consecutive year of double-digit growth after global revenue reached $2.6bn (USD) – up 20 per cent over the year. Menzies also reported global earnings before tax of $382m. 

Unite industrial officer Carrie Binnie said: “Summer strike action looms over Edinburgh and Glasgow airports because the pay offers on the table from Menzies Aviation aren’t good enough.” 

“Menzies Aviation has the ability to improve its offers and they can easily resolve this pay dispute without any disruption to the travelling public. If the company fail to table a better offer to our members, Unite will have no option but to ballot our members for strikes over the summer holidays.”   

Last week, Unite announced wage wins for 100 North Air workers across Scottish airports, and over 140 workers based at Glasgow airport employed by ABM and OCS. 

ENDS 

Notes to Editor 

For media enquiries in relation to Menzies workers at Glasgow airport please contact Pat McIlvogue on 07918631805 and for Edinburgh Airport, Carrie Binnie on 07810157913. 

Unite has clocked up a string of recent successes as part of its ‘Runway To Success’ campaign which is designed to establish standards beyond the legal minimums across Scottish airports. 

Unite Scotland is the country’s biggest and most diverse trade union with around 150,000 members. The union is led in Scotland by Derek Thomson.