Now engineers at Chessington World of Adventures go on strike: Theme park staff to walk out over May Day weekend, Coronation weekend and late spring bank holiday

• Unite members working at Chessington will stage a series of walkouts over pay
• Engineers at the theme park are seeking a pay increase in line with inflation 

Engineers at Chessington World of Adventures have planned a wave of walkouts in a dispute over pay to add further strike misery to Britons across the coming weeks.

Members of the Unite union at the south-west London theme park will stage a series of strikes from the end of April, including May Day weekend, Coronation weekend and the late spring bank holiday.

The union said Merlin Attractions, which operates Chessington World of Adventures, is attempting to impose a real-terms pay cut on its workers.

The engineers are seeking a pay increase in line with RPI inflation, which currently stands at 13.5 per cent.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: ‘Merlin Attractions is an extremely wealthy company which is anticipating a bumper year. It can fully afford to make a fair pay offer to its workers, but it has chosen not to do so.

Engineers at Chessington World of Adventures have planned a wave of walkouts to add further strike misery to Britons across the coming weeks

The union said Merlin Attractions, which operates Chessington World of Adventures, is attempting to impose a real-terms pay cut on its workers

‘The engineers are critical to the safe and smooth operation of Chessington, so their employer should be rewarding them for their vital work instead of seeking to impose a real-terms pay cut.’

READ MORE: Heathrow staff will strike for another eight days next month amid fears walkouts will cause chaos for royal fans travelling to the UK for King Charles’ coronation

Chessington, who insist the theme park will stay open across strike action, will see engineers walk out on days between April 28-May 1, May 5-8, May 12-15 and May 26-29.

The theme park has urged Unite to call of the strike and ‘enter into realistic talks to reach a suitable agreement’.

Engineers at Chessington World of Adventures first balloted for strike action in a dispute over pay at the end of March.

The strike ballot closed on April 12, with members voting in favour of strikes ahead of the upcoming bank holidays. 

Unite regional officer Lui D’Cunha said: ‘Strike action will inevitably cause a huge amount of disruption at Chessington and it will greatly affect the experience of customers, however this dispute is entirely of the company’s own making. 

‘It has been given every opportunity to make workers a fair pay offer, but has refused to do so.’

A spokesman for Chessington World of Adventures Resort told MailOnline that they thought they had offered a ‘very fair and reasonable pay offer’ during talks with Unite.

‘Showing support, respect and collaboration is very important to us and we have taken all feedback received very seriously, however we have been unable to reach an agreement to date,’ they added.

Chessington World of Adventures has urged Unite to call of the strike and ‘enter into realistic talks to reach a suitable agreement’

‘We are committed to reaching an agreement that is affordable and sustainable for the business, as well as being fair to colleagues. 

‘We urge Unite to call off the planned industrial action and enter into realistic talks to reach a suitable agreement.  We are open to further discussions and are keen to resolve this matter as soon as possible, to minimise any impact on guests we welcome to the Resort.

‘We want to reassure all guests that their safety is our top priority. We have comprehensive plans in place for days affected by the strikes to ensure we continue to deliver our high-quality guest experience alongside robust safety measures.’

The latest planned strikes from Unite come after the same union announced that its security staff at Heathrow Airport would strike for another eight days next month amid fears that walkouts will cause chaos for royal fans travelling to the UK for King Charles’ coronation.

Unite has announced its Heathrow Airport workers will walk out on May 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 25, 26 and 27.

The union said the strikes will cause ‘inevitable disruption and delays’ at a time when people are expected to be travelling to the UK for the King’s coronation.

Unite has also announced further NHS strikes at ambulance trusts and hospitals after receiving strong indications that many members were unhappy with the Government’s pay offer.

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