Security guards at Heathrow Airport's Terminal Five are to strike for 10 days from March 31 in a dispute over pay. The Unite union says more than 1,400 of its members employed by Heathrow will walk out in a period which covers the school Easter holidays.

Workers at T5, which is used by British Airways, and those who check cargo entering the airport, will take part in the action, ending on Easter Sunday, April 9.

Easter in the U.K. and Europe is a four-day holiday, including Good Friday and Easter Monday, making it a popular time for air travel. In a statement, Heathrow said passengers can be assured the airport will be "open and operational despite unnecessary threats of strike action by Unite."

The company said it had proposed "an inflation-beating 10% increase in pay." But Unite says the offer does not make up for years of pay freezes and cuts.

Unite union secretary general Sharon Graham says workers at Heathrow Airport are on "poverty wages" while "the chief executive and senior managers enjoy huge salaries."