Strike action at Stansted Airport has been called off while workers vote on a new pay offer.

A meeting on Tuesday afternoon between ground handlers Servisair and the General Municipal and Boilermakers Union reached agreement on a deal which will give staff a £500 payment in two parts, on top of a 2.4 per cent increase followed by a further increase of 2.5 per cent from January 1.

The offer, which will be put to members at the end of the week, also includes upgrading of posts backdated to May 1 which GMB regional industrial officer, Ed Blissett, said was worth between £600 and £900 to each member.

"It's a reasonable deal and I am hopeful," he said.

Some 230 Servisair check-in staff, dispatch workers and clerical staff who are members of the GMB union voted to strike three to one in a ballot after they turned down a 2.4 per cent pay offer.

Servisair spokesman, Tony Brunskill, said he was absolutely delighted that agreement had been reached.

"We hoped for an amicable outcome and it was a constructive meeting," he added.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.