Workers employed by OCS to clean British Airways offices and buildings across four terminals at Heathrow are set to strike this Christmas over low pay.
Strikes will take place from today, December 18, to December 29.
Staff involved in the dispute, consisting of more than 80 Unite members, are currently paid the minimum wage of £12.21 per hour.
Since early last year, workers have been asking for the London Living Wage, an independently calculated hourly rate reflecting London’s high cost of living, which is £14.80 per hour.
Their counterparts on the Mitie contract at Heathrow, who do similar roles, are paid the London Living Wage.
In the UK and Ireland, OCS has an annual turnover of around £1.7billion which the facilities services provider aims to double within five years.
Meanwhile, British Airways made a profit before tax of £896million in the first half of 2025 and CEO Sean Doyle received a £2.1million bonus in May this year.
As well as offices, including BA’s Waterside head office, workers clean cargo and engineering hangars where planes are repaired.
Workers employed by OCS to clean British Airways offices and buildings across four terminals at Heathrow are set to strike this Christmas over low pay
Unite regional officer Martin West said: ‘All these workers want for Christmas is a wage they can live on.
‘Giving them the London living wage would be a small cost to their profitable employers; however, OCS and BA are choosing to act like Scrooge.
‘It is time OCS and BA take this issue seriously and they must come to the table and negotiate a fairer pay deal with Unite if they wish to avoid strikes.’
Around 40 Unite members at OCS at Heathrow working for the soft services contract at Terminal Five previously walked out in February and March this year over low pay.
OCS has been accredited by the Living Wage Foundation for paying its directly employed staff the real living wage of £12.60 an hour and £13.85 an hour in London.
However, most of OCS’s 50,000 employees are not paid the real living wage as the outsourcing company does not give it to workers on its external contracts that make up the majority of its workforce.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: ‘OCS and BA are highly profitable companies, which can easily afford to pay these hardworking members of staff the London living wage.
‘It is an utter disgrace that while their employers are raking in huge profits, our members have been left struggling financially in one of the world’s most expensive cities. This shameful situation must end and our members have Unite’s unyielding support in their fight for fair pay.’
Around 40 Unite members at OCS at Heathrow working for the soft services contract at Terminal Five previously walked out in February and March this year over low pay
The Mail has contacted Heathrow, OCS and BA for comment.
It comes as research has found that one in three passengers is likely to face flight delays in the run-up to Christmas.
Multiple strikes have already been confirmed, including approximately 200 check-in and baggage handling workers employed by DHL at London Luton Airport, who are set to strike during the final two weekends of December amid an ongoing pay row.
Strikes are also set to hit passengers flying with Scandinavian Airlines from Heathrow airport as more than 130 cabin crew are taking strike action.
Meanwhile, Heathrow Airport is bracing itself to handle 7million passengers across its four terminals throughout the festive period.