Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

North air traffic controllers to press ahead with ballot on industrial action

The Air Traffic Control Tower at Inverness Airport,
The Air Traffic Control Tower at Inverness Airport,

Union officials have confirmed air traffic controllers in the north will press ahead with their ballot on industrial action.

Prospect revealed yesterday that it has confirmed arrangements for the Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (Hial) air traffic controllers’ ballot.

The row is over pay, with union leaders seeking a 10% pay rise to bring ATCs in line with their colleagues across the UK.

But Hial management said they offered all staff a 2% increase, which was accepted by all staff apart from ATC workers.

Members will begin voting on Monday, with a decision announced early in March.

If backed, a series of one-day strikes will be held starting on April 1 – affecting airports at Benbecula, Dundee, Inverness, Kirkwall, Stornoway, Sumburgh and Wick.


>> Keep up to date with the latest news with The P&J newsletter


However, Prospect will also be asking members to vote on whether they wish to take action short of a strike, such as work-to-rosters, an overtime ban and withdrawal of goodwill.

In an indicative ballot in October, the majority of 75 air traffic control (ATC) staff voted in favour of taking industrial action in the ongoing row.

David Avery, Prospect negotiations officer, said: “Members do not wish to take this action but have been forced into this position by the refusal of ministers to engage with the issue of air traffic controllers’ pay.“

Hial human resources director Andrea Sillars, said: “We are disappointed that Prospect have decided to ballot their members on strike action.

“We remain committed to continuing constructive discussions to help resolve the dispute and are open to holding further talks with Prospect on a recruitment and retention allowance for air traffic control staff.

“We await the outcome of the ballot.”

VisitInvernessLochNess chief executive Graeme Ambrose said: “Any disruption can cause problems, no one likes it, but if it happens, this industrial action won’t affect visitor numbers as people will have their plans already made.”

HIAL airports are operating as normal pending the outcome of the ballot on March 1.