Gate Gourmet launches voluntary redundancy drive

The management of Gate Gourmet will embark on a campaign this week to encourage staff to take voluntary redundancy.

The airline caterer published details of its redundancy offer to staff over the weekend, after staff received letters encouraging them to consider their positions.

However, unions and management warned there could be wrangles over the treatment of the staff who staged an unofficial walkout sparking the dispute at Heathrow.

Gate Gourmet has said it will not take back the most militant staff, while the Transport & General Workers’ Union (T&G) is insisting that all the 667 sacked strikers and the 1,400 other staff be treated equally.

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Both sides said they hoped to resolve the dispute when the level of acceptances of redundancy is clear after the end of this week. The T&G said that it held no brief to encourage its members to take redundancy.

In a statement, Gate Gourmet said: “It is Gate Gourmet’s hope that the results of this voluntary programme and compensation plan, coupled with a possible compulsory programme and work rule changes, will reduce its workforce to levels agreed upon by the union which will restore the company to economic viability.”