British Midland staff picket Dublin Airport

British Midland staff have begun picketing Dublin Airport in a 48-hour strike over the planned sale of the airline's customer…

British Midland staff have begun picketing Dublin Airport in a 48-hour strike over the planned sale of the airline's customer service and baggage handling operations.

The dispute follows a £72 million deal announced last week between British Midland and the Go Ahead Group, also known as GHI, under which 160 of the airline's 200 Dublin-based staff will be transferred to the ground handling company.

On Tuesday, workers rejected proposals by the Labour Relations Committee. Day-long talks on Wednesday also failed to resolve the dispute.