Unions urge Terminal 5 workers to accept offer

Contractor Laing O’Rourke has offered workers on the £4bn Heathrow Terminal 5 project an extra 67 pence per hour – as long as they cancel Friday’s proposed strike.

The deal, which means that the additional bonus rate now stands at £2.75 an hour, follows a meeting last night with the GMB, UCATT and TGWU unions, where the unions’ national secretaries agreed to recommend that their members accept the offer.

Workers wanted an extra £1 an hour in their bonus schemes but Laing O’Rourke had initially offered 22p.

A spokesman for the contractor said: “Laing O’Rourke has maintained an open dialogue with the unions and has always been confident that the issues at Terminal 5 could be resolved amicably.

“This one-off improvement to bonus arrangements, which is to last the duration of the Terminal 5 project, confirms that workers at Terminal 5 are some of the most productive and enjoy the best terms in the industry.” 

Scaffolders, labourers and other workers at Terminal 5 have already held a two-day walk out in a row about bonus pay.