THOUSANDS OF BRITISH PASSPORT OFFICE STAFF TO STRIKE FOR FIVE WEEKS AHEAD OF SUMMER HOLIDAY

Fri 17 March 2023:

More than 1,000 Passport Office employees will go on strike for five weeks in a row over pay, jobs, and working conditions, potentially disrupting the delivery of passports ahead of the summer holiday period.

Members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union will strike at passport offices in Durham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Newport, Peterborough, and Southport from April 3 to May 5.

More than 1,000 staff working in the Passport Offices in England, Scotland and Wales will not function from April 3 to May 5, the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union said, adding that it was a “significant escalation” of its long-running dispute.

“This escalation of our action has come about because, in sharp contrast with other parts of the public sector, ministers have failed to hold any meaningful talks with us, despite two massive strikes and sustained, targeted action lasting six months,” PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said, according to DailyMail.com

The office staff working in Durham, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Newport, Peterborough and Southport will walk out from April 3 to May 5, while those in Belfast will strike from April 7 to May 5.

The union has been demanding a 10 per cent pay rise for civil servants as UK inflation hits just over 10 per cent. The top management authority had previously shut down a 2 per cent pay rise proposal.

Each year, the government-operated passport offices issue over 5 million of them. It is feared that a strike by officers will significantly disrupt the holiday services, further straining a system already struggling from its Covid backlog.

As the cost-of-living crisis, which has been exacerbated by the Covid pandemic and Russia-Ukraine war-induced inflation, continues to deplete people’s savings, the UK is experiencing one of the worst waves of labor unrest since the 1980s.

Strikes by workers seeking higher pay to reflect the worst inflation in four decades have had an impact on almost every aspect of daily life, from healthcare and transportation to schools and border checks.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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