This year has seen increasing levels of unrest within the ground handling worker community.
A couple of weeks ago, Spanish ground handlers announced their intention to strike over the Easter weekend, a move that would severely inconvenience holiday-makers during that busy period. In the US, there have been ongoing protests at several airports, including those of Denver, San Francisco, Portland, New York and New Jersey: workers at all these stations have clamoured for greater recognition which has, at length, been granted.
Most recently of all have been the announcements in the press relating to intended forthcoming strike action in the UK: this is to occur at London Luton and Heathrow. At the latter, the protests centre on a six-year pay freeze, which workers claim is unrealistic, given the high cost of living around the nation's capital. The Heathrow action is planned for the end of April.
The problem of low worker pay for ground handlers is a universal one, and is something that is unlikely to be easily solved, all the while airlines seek to cut costs and fill aircraft.
