Strike threat for Gate Gourmet over Bristol airport staff
13.01.08
Gate Gourmet, the company that brought British Airways to a standstill two summers ago when its staff went on strike in sympathy over a dispute between the caterer and its staff, faces another summer of discontent over allegations that its employees at Bristol Airport were unfairly treated, the Independent newspaper reports.
Gate Gourmet won the contract to supply drinks, food and snacks to easyJet's at Bristol Airport last year, taking over from rival Alpha Airports. Under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) laws, also known as Tupe, the company was obliged to take on Alpha's existing staff producing easyJet's in-flight meals. However, six employees were not taken on and they are fighting the company at an employment tribunal.
Their union, Unite (formerly the Transport and General Workers union, who were at the centre of the previous Gate Gourmet dispute), is reported to have told the company to 'mend its ways' or face a repeat of the turmoil 2½ years ago, when a strike by its staff disrupted travel for thousands of BA passengers after the airline's staff came out in sympathy.
While a spokeswoman for the union said there were no current plans to ballot on any action, a person close to the situation told the newspaper that staff could take matters into their own hands if Gate Gourmet continued to find itself in employment tribunals.
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