Airport Security Pay UK

[pumazetec]

As you may or may not know Manchester Airport pays its Security Staff some of the lowest wages in the country with inferior terms and conditions.
I am seeking information on wages and Terms and conditions at
other UK airports, especially:

Birmingham
BAA Airports
And any other airport in the UK

If you have any information on the above please contact me.

Many thanks

Pumazetec

[alfaaloop]

New starter security staff at BHX on between 13 and 14K inc shift premium

[Departures Beckham]

London City Airport (http://www.londoncityairport.com/recruitment/index.htm) offers security staff a starting rate of £15,624 - £16,092 pa.

[ClickRich]

I'll be watching this thread with interest.

I'm all in favour of fair pay, but the laws of the open market will prevail. If an airport were to incur large salary bills for directly employed security staff, at some point the shareholders will demand the function is outcourced. After all, it is a self contained business function with defined processes that is a hygene factor rather than value adding- surely commercially suited to the outsource model. I know who I'd rather work for if I was a security officer/assistant... and who was likely to pay me the best.

I'm just commenting as a businessman with no particular vested interest in either side of this debate.

My greater concern if I was an airport manager would be how do I know that security policy is being delivered? As a layperson, it seemed to me from the Whistleblower programme last year that we can't be sure this hygene factor is all that clean. Ok, every organisation has rogue operators, but there was a pattern emerging. Again, as a manager, I wouldn't be inclined to reward this performance with salary increases and would tend to want to sell the problem on to an outsourcer.

Pumazetec, someone has to be paid the least. Let's turn the question round- why should the security staff at Manchester be paid more?

What are the arguments from people on both sides of this? What are the airport saying to you Pumazetec?

[HZ123]

Once again G4 the new Securicor will be looking to go into all of the UK airports in a big way. One of their big targets is Authority run security sections aka BHX,MAN & the BAA ports. Shoud they take your port over you will be earning less and doing more.

[Leodis]

Securicor Avation advertised the position at Leeds at 15K per annum. Most of the security at Leeds seem to work silly shifts starting at 3am and often working for 12 hours.

This does help their company achieve its ratio of 'old farts' earning a few bob in their retirement and 'ethnic minority' background employees who statistically get paid less than anyone else.:rolleyes:

As like most people employed at airports (other than the pilots and airport authority staff) they get **** on from a great hight.

[Buster the Bear]

Airport security, what a way of shafting staff!

Once upon a Buster time, the security of our airports was mostly an 'in-house' operation, conducted and operated by the airports.

Sadly as the folk ensuring our safe passage through our departure airports and onwards to our destinations were considered 'manual' labour, the 'experts' were either retired, shafted or contracted out.

Sadly during the 80's and 90's the security staff considered themselves at times, to be 'key' airport workers and so salaries were rather good as they have always been heavily unionised and held quite a heavy negotiating might.

Needless to say, airport management decided that they could contract out the 'hard line' security and let others manage it.

As a result, from my own knowledge, salaries for security staff in the London area are about half what they would have been if the union officials had not demanded 'more' and worked with airport management to reduce costs! Once one airport contracted out security, this benchmarking dealt a fatal blow to 'in house' provision!

Answer me this: When was the last time in the UK that there was major disruption due to a lack of security staff?

So are security staff essential at airports? Yes in the eyes of the law, but yet another staffing area to exploit and leave to an out sourced agency.

Sadly until the security of airports is taken more seriously and the vacancies rise, 5 quid and hour seems the going rate!

So who were the winners and losers?

Winners: My guess, those that retired when they could within the last 7 years, and the airports.

Losers: Staff and the unions that advised their membership during a rapidly changing employment environment from 1998 onwards.

Key workers at an airport can be argued about, over and over again, but without Air Traffic Controllers or Firemen, you have a closed airport. Security folk thought that they were key workers and demanded more. As they do not reqire any Professional qualifications, they got 'shafted, BIG TIME'! Thus the £5 or minimum wage they get now.

Now I would rather prefer my security at an airport is ensured, but as I have only paid 99p plus taxes, how can it? We all want something for nothing!

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