Late Saturday, talks are being held to prevent a longer strike at Heathrow Airport in London from breaking out, The Guardian reports. On Monday and Tuesday, 177 flights have been canceled as members of the Unite union plan a 48-hour work stoppage.

Among the striking staff are security guards, firefighters, engineers and service personnel.   

BabyNegotiations between the union and the airport began on Friday with the help of a conciliation service and resumed on Saturday. During the negotiations, Unite members have rejected a pay offer from Heathrow that the airport said was worth 7.3 percent over 2.5 years. 

The union, in turn, stated that the offer only provided £3.75 more in wages per day and warned that the airport could have to pay £4.6 million in compensation to airlines if the strike continues. 

Unite has called on Heathrow to ”give hard-working staff a pay rise” to prevent 88,000 passengers from being affected by the strike. 

A Heathrow spokesperson told The Guardian that they have prepared contingency plans to keep the airport open even during the two days that staff plan to strike.

”"As part of our plans, we are working with airlines to proactively strengthen flights and rebook passengers to alternative services in advance," the spokesperson said, adding that information about the situation will be continuously updated on the airport's website and social media channels.

At the same time, Heathrow has previously flagged because passengers traveling from the airport at the beginning of next week may be affected by the strike.  

”We expect queue times at security to be slightly longer than normal,” an airport spokesperson told The Guardian. 

If the parties do not reach an agreement in the negotiations, more strikes are planned for August 23 and 24. 

Source: di.se