Air traffic controller pay dispute puts flights at risk
THOUSANDS of passengers across the north are in danger of being stranded amid a pay dispute between Highlands and Islands Airports (Hial) and air traffic controllers.
Hial and the Prospect union are set for crunch talks today and Thursday in a bid to avoid looming industrial action that would see flights into and out of as many as seven airports – including Inverness – grounded.
A ballot by Prospect recorded overwhelming support for industrial action, with almost 90 per cent favouring a strike and just under 100 per cent for lesser action that would precede a walkout.
Earlier, Hial workers rejected a pay increase of up to three per cent because it “fails to close the substantial gap between Hial and the rest of the air traffic industry in the UK and across Europe”.
A Hial spokesman said: “Prospect ATC (air traffic control) members were balloted separately and rejected the pay settlement. Prospect have indicated that they seek a double-digit increase or a commitment from the company to raise wages above inflation to catch up with the market.”
In the event of industrial action the airports likely to be affected are some of the most important, given question marks over ferry travel, and most used transport hubs in the Highlands.
They include the busiest airport in the north at Inverness which has around 875,000 passengers annually as well as vital services in Stornoway, Kirkwall, Sumburgh, Stornoway and others like Dundee, Wick and Benbecula.
Regional MSP John Finnie believes Scottish ministers must step in and take action before the situation deteriorates to the stage where the air traffic controllers strike.
He said: “It is quite remarkable that Hial’s intransigence has led Prospect, the air traffic controllers union, to consider industrial action on these concerns and specifically action in relation to pay.
“Should such action take place, Prospect and its members would have my full support. However, I strongly urge ministers to step in and sort this mess out before it gets to that stage.”
David Avery, Prospect negotiations officer, said: “There is an international shortage of air traffic controllers. Hial rates of pay have fallen significantly behind the other air traffic providers in the UK and this is now having an impact on operations.
"Members want Hial to address this issue now before they fall even further behind.”
Mr Avery added: “The dispute is not about the company’s proposals to centralise air traffic services in Inverness. While members are opposed to these proposals, we are still engaging with the company and politicians to reverse the in-principle decision to proceed.”
One concerned Hial worker has already written to Mr Finnie about the dispute claiming discontent with the company is not just about pay and is related to broader issues like centralising air traffic controllers in Inverness.
The worker stated: “Concerns about pay are not even the main concerns of Hail's air traffic control staff. Management continues to fail to listen to staff concerns about a plan to close the control towers at the some airports, replacing them with a ‘remote tower centre’.
“This relies on a data link between cameras at the airports and a new remote tower centre. They then expect air traffic controllers to simultaneously control two or three airports. This reliance on new, largely untested technology and increase in controller workload would be an obvious reduction in safety.”
He added: “Surely at some point the Scottish Government will do something to protect Scotland's air traffic control particularly since Hial is funded by the government.”
But the Hial spokesman disputed some of those claims, stating: “ATC colleagues have been consulted throughout the process and their opinions and views continue to be sought through a structured programme management approach.
“Local representatives have been elected from all locations to represent the views of staff and to make representation to the company as part of an open feedback process. There are no planned job losses as a result of remote tower centralisation.”
