Many of the 700 employees who have applied for voluntary redundancy at airline caterer Gate Gourmet are likely to be turned down, according to company officials.
Although the airline caterer needs to slash 675 of its 1,400 jobs at Heathrow airport to put its UK business back in the black, it warned it needed to ensure it was left with the correct balance of skilled workers.
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The firm also re-iterated its stance on “militant” staff. Gate Gourmet UK & Ireland managing director Eric Born said: “We will not re-engage employees who instigated the wildcat strike in August or their more militant followers.”
According to the Transport and General Workers’ union the company regards about 200 of the 667 sacked staff as militant activists.
Gate Gourmet continues to insist that it is unable to selectively re-hire dismissed workers sacked after a wildcat strike in August, for legal reasons, unless they sign compromise agreements.
