Industrial action announced at HIAL airports over remote towers

22nd December 2020

Prospect, which represents air traffic control staff and other in Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd, has announced that its member are to take industrial action over the company's remote towers plan. Unless HIAL changes tack nearly 50 staff will be made redundant with HIAL needing to recruit a similar number in Inverness at very significant expense to the taxpayer.

Action will commence on 4/5 January and will initially consist of the withdrawal of any work relating to both the remote towers plan and HIAL's planned closure of local air traffic facilities.

Prospect's ballot of members in HIAL closed last week with a significant vote in favour of both action short of a strike and strike action. Due to the ongoing pandemic, which has decimated the aviation industry, Prospect members have decided not to take either strike action, or action short of a strike which would cause disruption to travellers or local economies at this time.

Details of Prospect's objections to the remote towers plan, and the ballot results can be seen below.

David Avery, Prospect negotiator, said:"Prospect have presented a raft of evidence against remote towers, including an independent report into its viability but HIAL are pressing on regardless. Our members are not against change but this is the wrong plan and at a time when aviation is being decimated by the pandemic there are better things to spend taxpayers’ money on.

"Our members, working in safety critical roles, are being asked to give their time to develop a project which they don’t want, which is reduces safety, which will remove substantial money from local economies, and will make them redundant. Withdrawing cooperation from this project is the best way for our members to take industrial action without further impacting the communities they serve.

"HIAL and the Scottish Government have the opportunity to think again, cancel this harmful project and come up with an acceptable way to modernise services."

The results of the ballot, on a turnout well over the legal threshold, were:

Question: Are you prepared to take part in strike action?

Yes - 66.1%, No 33.9%

Question: Are you prepared to take part in industrial action short of a strike?

Yes - 81.0%, No - 19.0%

The ballot gives Prospect a mandate to take further action, including strike action, at a later date. Prospect decided this was not the time to add to people’s disruption.

Prospect's independent report on the impact of remote towers found:

The remote towers programme will take at least £18m of economic benefit from island economies

HIAL’s own scoping study identified the remote towers option as "the most difficult and risky to implement".

HIAL have only published a redacted business case for the proposal. Implementation costs have already almost doubled to £33.5m with lifetime costs £70m higher than the status quo.

HIAL has failed to learn the lessons of an NAO report into IT procurement by the Scottish government with engagement and staff buy-in in particular well below optimal.

Early adopters of new technology like HIAL, not only face a risk of functionality but also that the technology is quickly updated.

Safety and operational concerns have been raised including, the breakdown of data transmission systems, cyber-security, weather assessment, impact on human performance and managing the need for ratings for more than one tower in a single shift.

The scoping study took place pre-COVID and does not take into account any potential impact of the pandemic on the aviation industry as a whole.

Highlands and Islands Labour MSP, Rhoda Grant commented on the moves towards Industrial Action made by Air Traffic Controllers over the plans to centralise services in Inverness.

Mrs Grant said: “The view of the workforce regarding HIAL’s plans is very very clear, and whether HIAL is willing admit it or not its staff are highly trained experts on the subject of Air Traffic Control in the Highlands and Islands who know what they are talking about.

“The fact that Air Traffic Controllers have voted to take action should strongly indicate to HIAL that it needs to go back to the drawing board and prevent everyone, including affected communities and their own staff, this level of distress."