08 January 2023 , 17:06
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Union chiefs have blasted leaked e-mails that raised the idea of BANNING Border Force staff from joining a union.
The idea is said to have been one of three drawn up by officials and lawyers in the Business Department (BEIS).
Shared with senior civil servants, the leaked documents reportedly suggested “BF staff banned from joining a trade union”, with striking or “inciting disaffection” to become a criminal offence.
The ideas were put to Downing Street last month, The Observer reported, but the Border Force suggestion was rejected.
A No10 source denied the idea was ever considered by Downing Street, and pointed out a different crackdown on unions is being taken forward.
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One of the three ideas was said to have been “minimum service levels”, forcing a certain number of workers to turn up to their job even if their union is on strike.
Military personnel covering for striking Border Force workers at Manchester Airport (PA)This idea is now being taken forward for rail, ambulance and fire workers, and will be held in reserve for border security, education and nuclear decommissioning staff too.
A third option drawn up by officials was said to have been a “prison service-style ban on striking”.
The Public and Commercial Services union, which represents Border Force staff, blasted the the government for being “even more hardline even than Thatcher’s”.
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “These emails reveal that while the government publicly is saying we want to resolve the dispute, behind the scenes they were preparing the biggest attacks on fundamental rights and freedoms that we would have seen in this country for generations.
“Rather than spend any time trying to resolve these disputes the government is actually trying to potentially take what are already the most restrictive anti-union laws in Europe and take them to levels I don’t think anybody thought they would seriously contemplate.”
Around 1,000 passport-checking Border Force staff walked from December 23-26 and December 28-31 at Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow and Manchester airports.
The military was drafted in to cover for Border Force workers, who are part of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union.
No new dates have been announced yet but the dispute is not resolved, so they are possible with two weeks’ notice.
The PCS is reportedly looking at extending to ports including Dover next time.
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A government spokesperson said: “As announced this week, we are introducing new laws to ensure a minimum level of safety in some of our most crucial sectors when industrial action takes place.”