Talks today to avert industrial action by members of Unite at Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd have failed after the trades union rejected the company’s offer to go to conciliation and mediation with ACAS. Offers by the company’s senior management to address staff at all HIAL’s airports on the issue of pay and to work with the union on achieving greater flexibility in pay deals for future years were also rejected.

Unite members will now stage 24 hours of industrial action on Monday 30 July and every subsequent Monday until resolution. This action will cause major disruption to air services in the region on 30 July which will effect circa 4,000 passengers.

HIAL employs 320 members of staff across its 10 airports and head office at: Barra; Benbecula,; Campbeltown; Inverness; Islay; Kirkwall; Stornoway; Sumburgh; Tiree and Wick.

Unite represents 131 staff of fire fighter and leading fire fighter grades in the company’s airport fire service and vehicle engineers. Of the 131 ballots issued by the union, 70 votes were returned in favour of industrial action and 17 against with 44 ballots not returned. The union therefore advised HIAL that  24-hour industrial action will be taken on Monday 30 July and every following Monday until resolution.

As a company wholly owned by the Scottish Executive, HIAL was subject to the UK Government’s cap on public sector wages. The maximum offer permitted for its 2006/07 pay award was 2% and was arrived at following assessment against a range of criteria including previous pay awards, inflation, terms and conditions and current salary levels. HIAL employees represented by the Prospect and PCS trades unions have accepted the 2% award for the year running 1 October 2006 to 30 September 2007.

Inglis Lyon, managing director of HIAL said: “We have made every effort to work with the union to avert industrial action but without success. We now face the prospect of Unite members effectively closing down the region’s air network on 30 July which will inconvenience thousands of passengers and cause significant economic loss to the region as a whole in the middle of the peak tourist season.”