‘Uncertain time’

Unite, which represents airport staff, is seeking urgent answers and reassurances, following yesterday’s announcement (October 15) that Swissport has lost the Ryanair baggage handling contract to OmniServ.

In the announcement Ryanair said that OmniServ would be providing all check in, baggage and ground operations at Stansted from February 2019.

OmniServ will operate the contract under a separate subsidiary called Blue Handling.

Unite regional officer Mark Barter is due to have a meeting with Swissport tomorrow (October 17) in order to gain further information about how the contract will operate and to confirm that existing staff will be TUPE’d over to OmniServ. He will also be in discussions directly with OmniServ to confirm whether existing pay and conditions will be protected going forward.

Unite regional officer Mark Barter said, “Unite is looking forward to working in partnership with OmniServ in the future.

“However, our members at Swissport need clear answers and reassurance at this uncertain time,” he added. “OmniServ needs to confirm it will honour existing pay and conditions agreements, not just at the point of transfer, but going forward.

“Members also need honest answers about existing staffing levels and whether OmniServ intends to make redundancies or if current staffing levels will be preserved once it inherits the contract.”