Security staff at Manchester Airport have stepped up their industrial action in a dispute over proposed job cuts.
More than 200 workers at the airport took to the picket line at 4 a.m. at the start of a 36-hour strike over plans to cut hundreds of jobs, slash wages, cut holidays and introduce new rosters.
Members of the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) say the dispute is more about the safety of passengers travelling through airports than about changes in working conditions.
With shouts of "passenger safety" and "sack the board", protesters claimed they had been given no alternative but to take industrial action after talks with airport bosses broke down earlier this week. A series of one- and two-hour strikes have already taken place, but the TGWU has decided to step up its action.
Mr Brian Bowen, regional industrial organiser for the union, said: "All our actions so far have been designed to cause the least disruption possible for passengers at the airport. But our members are adamant they want to resolve this dispute and therefore decided to hold a 36-hour stoppage".
PA