Pay dispute threat

SECURITY guards working at Terminal 5 in London's Heathrow Airport voted on, Friday, March 17, to go on strike. The 1,400 workers involved in the action are all members of the Unite union and employed by Heathrow Airports Ltd (HAL).

As reported by the union, their industrial action will commence on Friday March 31 and continue until Sunday, April 9, which is Easter Sunday, one of the travel hub's busiest weekends of the year. They are in dispute with the facility's bosses over pay and working conditions.

The Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham, claimed that the workers deserved a fair pay increase because they are "fundamental to the airport's success". Passengers can expect to "experience severe delays and disruption this Easter" said the union.

A spokesperson for Heathrow said "contingency plans" were in place.

Perhaps even more concerning is that between April and December 2022, nearly threequarters of a million (721,486) had their Direct Debits cancelled which, if this trend continues during the cost­ ofliving crisis until April

2023, could mean an even bigger total than the 2019 ­ 20 financial year.

Under current procedures, a missed payment, or an unpaid Direct Debit results in the DVLA contacting the vehicle keeper to inform them it will attempt a further Direct Debit on a specified date. If this subsequently fails, the mandate is cancelled and the owner is advised that the vehicle is not taxed. Failure to tax it another way will lead to the DVLA taking