<p><br /> BAA bosses are meeting with Unite union leaders to try and come to an agreement which will stop airport workers going on strike.<br /> </p><p><br /> Holidaymakers going away over the August bank holiday could be affected, if it goes ahead.<br /> </p><p><br /> The talks follow a vote by Unite members over a 1 per cent pay offer, with more than 70 per cent in favour of industrial action.<br /> </p><p><br /> Unite said members deserved a bigger pay rise after a wage freeze and changes to pension schemes last year.<br /> </p><p><br /> The Spanish owners of BAA offered an additional 0.5 per cent but this was conditional on changes to the firm's sickness agreement, said the union.<br /> </p><p><br /> The row involves more than 6,000 security staff, engineers and firefighters at six airports - Heathrow, Stansted, Southampton, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.<br /> </p><p><br /> Unite said the airports would close down if strikes went ahead which would hit the travel plans of millions of holidaymakers and other passengers.<br /> </p><p><br /> The union would have to give seven days notice of any industrial action, so strikes could be held before the end of the school holidays.<br /> </p><p><br /> BAA said it was looking forward to the meeting at the conciliation services Acas, adding: "We hope that we can quickly conclude an agreement, in the interests of the travelling public, our airlines and our staff, the majority of whom did not vote for a strike."<br /> </p><p><br /> Meanwhile, thousands of British Airways baggage handlers, check-in workers and other ground staff will start voting today on whether to accept savings and job losses as part of the airline's plans to cut costs.<br /> </p>
