Aug. 4 (UPI) -- A union representing airport workers on Sunday suspended a planned strike at Heathrow Airport to allow for further talks with management.
Some 2,500 workers at Europe's busiest airport were scheduled to begin a 48-hour strike starting at one minute after midnight Monday over low wages. Ahead of the strike, the airport canceled 177 flights scheduled over the next two days.
Unite the union said in a statement Sunday that the strike was being suspended "to allow for further talks at Acas tomorrow."
"Under the chairmanship of the conciliation service Acas, tomorrow's talks will involve senior directors from Heathrow Airport and senior Unite officials with the aim of averting a second day of planned strike action," which is scheduled to begin at midnight Tuesday, the union said.
"Unite will not be making any further comment while talks are ongoing," it said.
Heathrow Airport said that while the strike is still scheduled for Tuesday, it is "hopeful" an agreement can be made to put "a stop to this disruptive and unnecessary threat of strike action."
In a statement, Heathrow Airport said airlines may reinstate canceled flights and concerned passengers should contact their airline.
"We regret that passengers have been inconvenienced by this," the airport said.
The flight cancelations affect 91 airlines.
Further strikes are planned for Aug. 23 and 24 in a separate dispute between Unite's pilots and British Airway over a pay dispute.
The strike comes after 88 percent of Unite's members rejected the airport's latest revised pay offer. The union said it had come up little from its original offer while the airport's chief executive officer, John Holland-Kaye, received a 103.2 percent pay increase.
"It is Heathrow bosses' power to settle this dispute," said Unite regional coordinating officer Wayne King. "We would urge them to work with us to do so and avoid the disruption to passengers that strike action will inevitably bring."
