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| Photo by Yolanda Suen on Unsplash |
The union has called strike action between 23rd and 26th December, and then from 28th to 31st December and will affect the UK's major airports London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and Cardiff. A strike will also impact the south coast port of Newhaven, which would have devastating consequences for the only loss-making route to Dieppe by Transmanche Ferries / DFDS. These dates have been chosen by the union, it says, to have the maximum impact by causing the most disruption to passengers.
PCS Mark Serwotka told media that 40,000 of its members were having to use food banks, while 45,000 were claiming in-work benefits. Although, union reps couldn't say how many of those going on strike were included in those numbers. The union are calling for a 10% pay increase, better job security, with no cuts to pensions or redundancies.
eGates should remain operational throughout the strikes for those with biometric passports from EU countries, Australia, Canada, Iceland, Japan, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland or the USA.
Most civil servants have received just a 2% pay rise this year and after a pay freeze for a number of years. PCS said 86% of its 100,000 members across 124 government departments and public sector employers have voted in favour of strike action and promised more strikes - over all departments would be called next year. So far only a few jobcentres and benefits offices will take strike action in the coming weeks, however, the union is already making plans for most Universal Credit service centres to see crippling walkouts in the new year.
The Christmas action will affect millions of people who had been planning getaways over the festive period and to reunite with relatives from overseas. Robert Jenrick, the Immigration Minister called the strike "unjustifiable and will ruin the plans of thousands of families and businesses across the country. - While we are working closely with all UK ports and airports and have robust plans in place to minimise any delays if strike action goes ahead, passengers should be prepared for their plans to be severely disrupted."
Gatwick Airport said it will deploy extra staff on strike days to help with the welfare of stranded passengers and were in consultation with Border Force over mitigation however, delays of between 4 and 6 hours should be expected.
The Business Travel Association warned "The entire travel support system will once more be plunged into dealing with cancellations and disruptions rather than bookings with no financial recompense. - further strike action puts British workers’ Christmases at risk. Hard workers up and down the country will be stranded, struggling to get home."
A spokesperson for London Heathrow Airport claimed that "Our priority is to ensure passengers get through the border safely and as quickly as possible. We are working closely with airlines and Border Force on mitigation plans for potential strike action by Border Force officers and these plans will now be implemented for the notified days."
Manchester Airport said "It is hugely regrettable that the PCS Union has chosen to disrupt one of the most important times of the year for international travel by calling a strike by Border Force officers at several UK ports, including Manchester Airport, for 23-26 December and 28-31 December. We urge union and Government representatives to work together to find a solution to avert this strike action."
It added: "We will be working with our airlines to provide passengers with as much advance notice of cancelled services as possible, so that people have the chance to rebook their travel around the strike days. Arriving passengers should also be prepared for much longer immigration queues on strike days, owing to reduced Border Force staffing levels. Those due to travel during the affected period should look out for communications from their airlines over the coming days."
