X-ray staff at Suvarnabhumi airport on strike

Airports of Thailand staff demonstrate newly installed luggage X-ray and passenger search systems at the eastern part of the Suvarnabhumi airport terminal in June 2012. (Post Today file photo)

About 300 luggage x-ray unit workers at Suvarnabhumi airport have gone on strike, but were replaced temporarily by staff from Don Mueang and other airports.

About 8pm on Sunday the striking workers gathered to voice their demands in front of the office of ASM Security Management, a subsidiary of Loxley Co contracted to operate the luggage x-ray unit, in front of the airport's Concourse A.

They want an increase of their base salary from 9,000 to 9,300 baht a month and increases in skills and other allowances, overtime rates, travel expenses and welfare benefits.

The management of Suvarnabhumi airport quickly replaced the strikers with staff from Don Mueang airport, enabling the operation at the luggage x-ray unit at Suvarnabhumi to continue uninterrupted.

ASM general manager Kan Thongyai went out to negotiate with the striking employees on Sunday night, but no agreement was reached. The company said the demands were too high and unacceptable.

The strikers dispersed around midnight and said they would return on Monday to continue their protest.

Sirote Duangratana, general manager of Suvarnabhumi airport, said ASM Security Management had informed the airport of the work stoppage.

For the meantime, around 50 x-ray unit staff from Don Mueang airport, some from within Suvarnabhumi airport and another 40 from Phuket airport would temporarily replace the ASM workers.

He said 150 new employees of ASM now under training would be on the job by the end of February.