The first of a series of summer weekend strikes by security staff at Heathrow airport has been called off, raising hopes the dispute may be ended before peak season.
Unite said the strike by about 2,000 of its members on 24-25 June would not now go ahead due to an improved pay offer from Heathrow.
The union will ballot its members on the latest offer, having already rejected a deal worth about 10%.
Similar strikes so far have been managed by the airport without significant disruption, although the action was due to spread to a second terminal and was scheduled for a total of 31 days over the main holiday period.
The earlier strikes were staged over Easter and the May half-term period by security staff in Terminal 5, which handles all British Airways passengers, and by campus security, which checks workers and vehicles entering the airport. The scheduled action was due to also include staff in Terminal 3, where carriers such as Virgin Atlantic, United Airlines and Emirates operate.
Unite said the first strikes were called off as “a gesture of goodwill” after talks, but the rest were still scheduled to go ahead if the pay offer was rejected.
The union’s regional coordinating officer, Wayne King, said: “Following extensive negotiations last week a new offer was put forward by Hal [Heathrow Airport Limited]. Members will now be balloted on the latest offer and they will decide whether or not it meets their expectations.”
A Heathrow spokesperson said: “We are pleased to have agreed a pay deal, which unions are recommending their members to accept. This is a great deal for colleagues, giving them two years of guaranteed above-inflation pay rises, alongside further benefits and assurances that they told us they wanted. We encourage them to accept the deal so that everyone can have certainty and the backdated pay increase that so many have been waiting for.”
Earlier on Monday, Heathrow reported it had managed the previous strikes in May, when it carried 6.7 million passengers with no delays at security, and had built up a contingency team to cope with the summer action.
John Holland-Kaye, the Heathrow chief executive, said: “We have delivered excellent service to passengers, with no cancellations, over eight days of strikes on the busiest days in May, and do not anticipate cancellations as a result of strikes during the summer holiday getaway.”
