Transport / HIAL staff turn down pay offer
HIGHLANDS and Islands Airports Ltd (HIAL) says a pay offer has been rejected by staff.
Managing director Inglis Lyon said the organisation will “now meet with union colleagues to try and reach a solution following the disappointing result.”
Government owned HIAL operates a number of airports in the Highlands and Islands, including at Sumburgh.
The enhanced offer comprised of a five per cent basic pay award to all staff earning less that £80,000, and a four per cent basic pay award to all staff earning more that £80,000.
It said that in recognition of the challenges staff are facing due to inflationary pressure and the cost-of-living crisis, it explored “all options” to make an improved pay offer which was presented to trade unions PCS, Prospect and Unite.
If no resolution is found then one possible outcome is industrial action.
Lyon said: “The offer was the result of an extensive exercise on cost savings and the generation of additional income to allow an enhanced pay award that was affordable from within our existing finances.”
Jane Rose, Prospect negotiator, said: “Prospect members at HIAL have voted to reject this year’s pay offer as insufficient to deal with the escalating cost of living.
“Prospect will consult with its members at HIAL to determine next steps and will seek immediate further engagement with the employer to try and find an acceptable way forward.”
Council staff in Scotland have already secured an enhanced pay rise after strikes in some local authorities.
It comes as the Office for National Statistics has revealed that the price of budget food in UK supermarkets has risen by 17 per cent in the year to September as the cost of living increases.
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