News

Unions around the world are organising workers in the engine rooms of our global economy. Airports are increasingly the vital transport hubs which keep our economies ticking over – providing the high-speed transport required to meet the demands of 21st century consumers.

Throughout the summer, airport security workers in France are taking creative protest action to demand greater job security, wage increases and compensation for unsociable hours. Like so many others around the world, these workers find their real wages declining due to rapidly rising costs of living and inadequate wage increases. At the same time, guards are expected to work increasingly “flexible” hours with nothing in return and are offered almost no job security due to the frequent threat of contract changes.

As well as the on-going protests during the holiday season, unions staged short strikes on 4 and 5 July at key security hot-spots including airports in Roissy, Orly, Bordeaux and Marseille and will continue with another short strike on 15 August.



French workers are joined in their struggle by airport workers in the United States and the United Kingdom where unions are running similar campaigns.



SEIU Airport Workers United represents 5,500 airline sub-contracted workers in California airports. These workers provide a range of services from cleaning airports and plane cabins to airport security and airport porter or “skycap” services.



Airlines work to keep costs as low as possible by squeezing their contractors. This results in poverty wages for workers, high turnover rates and less training in the industry and low quality of service for customers, creating health and security risks for the public. Californian contract workers are demanding a contract which provides access to affordable healthcare, full-time working hours and living wages.



In the United Kingdom, workers face the same battle. The Transport workers division of UNITE is organising security and cleaning workers in airports across the UK and Ireland. The industry-wide campaign aims to build sustainable workplace structures for the union and will ultimately take the demand for living wages and fair working conditions to the clients - airlines and airport operators.