Gate Gourmet Industrial Dispute

Gate Gourmet was a company that provided in-flight meals for the airline British Airways and employed in the majority South Asian women, many of whom had arrived in the 1970s and 1980s from Punjab and lived in Southall and the immediate vicinity of Heathrow. By the time of the dispute many were in their fifties and sixties. Gate Gourmet workers were members of the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU).

In 1997 British Airways outsourced Gate Gourmet and its 1,200 members of staff, before selling the firm to Texas Pacific Group in 2002. In 2005 the company sought to restructure Gate Gourmet, making a large number of workers redundant and significantly changing the terms and working conditions of remaining employees, reducing sick pay, overtime payments and break times. The dispute erupted when, on 10 August 2005, Gate Gourmet managers employed temporary agency workers to take over workstations while the women were on their morning break. When they returned, the agency workers refused to vacate the stations as instructed by managers, leading to them assembling in the canteen to discuss the situation with some of their union shop stewards. They advised that the workers should not rejoin the production line until managers agreed to engage with the union representatives. However, managers saw this gathering as an unofficial strike, leading to a stand-off that saw the dismissal of over 800 workers.

This resulted in strike action at Gate Gourmet but also walkouts at Heathrow Airport, leading to major disruption at the airport between 10 and 12 August. The TGWU, whilst initially supportive of the dismissed workers, negotiated a deal on 25 August, effectively ending the dispute, which included the re-employment of some workers but on worse contracts; others were offered voluntary redundancy. However, over fifty women decided to not take up the offer of compensation and instead to bring their unfair dismissal to an employment tribunal, which ruled against them.

The Gate Gourmet dispute is one of the most acrimonious industrial disputes since the miners' strike, but is less known than Grunwick – it is similarly characterized by a struggle for workers' rights and union disillusionment and ultimately a dedicated workforce let down by their employer.