Christmas appeal over airport pay
CARDIFF Airport workers delivered a Christmas card to their CEO this week amid a bid to try to bring forward a planned wage increase.
Several members of security staff and a group from Citizens Cymru Wales went to the airport on Wednesday with a Christmas card for airport CEO Debra Barber. They also took a signed statement from 29 airport workers and sang Christmas carols to highlight their bid to bring the planned pay increase forward.
Cardiff Airport said it is committed to working towards having the Real Living Wage in place by April 2020, subject to profit levels.
Security staff are currently paid £8.01 per hour. The Real Living Wage is £8.75 per hour.
The Christmas card featured several statements from security staff.
One said: “I want to clear my overdraft. The extra money would hopefully stop me from going overdrawn, which is what happens now on a monthly basis.”
Jonathan Cox, deputy director of Citizens UK and lead organiser for Citizens Cymru Wales, said: “I’ve met with dozens of the airport workers over the past few months and they have described to me the difficult choices they have to make as the cost of living increases and their pay does not keep pace with the Real Living Wage.
“They are not talking about luxuries if they got paid £8.75 an hour – they are talking about being able to buy fresh food for their families, heat their homes in the winter, and travel to care for relatives in other parts of Wales.
“Last year they received a 16p hourly pay rise, and expect to receive the same this year. The Real Living Wage rose by 30p last year, and may well rise again.”
Citizens Cymru Wales estimated it would cost £200,000 to introduce the Real Living Wage at the Rhoose airport.
Cardiff Airport said that after an inhouse transfer in March 2016 security staff went from zero-hours contracts to guaranteed contracted hours.
They added that several other improvements have been made, including allocating shifts which best suited the staff’s personal lives.
Ms Barber said: “For clarity concerning wages, Cardiff Airport already pays above the National Living Wage for all staff – both above and below the age of 25. We are also committed to working towards achieving the Real Living Wage with a pledge to have this in place by April 2020, subject to the airport moving back to a position of profitability by that date.
“Cardiff Airport agreed with the recognised unions in 2016 that it would strive to achieve parity with the Real Living Wage but that this would need to be balanced in line with airport profitability. The current Union agreed pay award sets pay levels until April 2019.”