Easter holiday chaos looms as hundreds of Border Force workers consider strikes
Hundreds of Border Force workers could walk out of their posts over the Easter Holidays.
More than 600 officers based at the Heathrow Airport are threatening to hit the picket line over the school holidays, potentially causing major disruption for families looking to get away for a break. PCS members who work for the Border Force at Heathrow are to be balloted for strike action in a dispute over shift patterns and working conditions.
The ballot opened on Friday and runs until March 22. The PCS Union claims that Heathrow staff are being subjected to a new roster pattern while also stripping them of 'legacy terms and conditions, reasonable adjustments, and flexible working arrangements' rights.
The earliest date the strike could begin would be April 5. Easter Sunday falls on March 31 this year, meaning the strikes could take place the weekend after many jet off in a bid to maximise their time away through the two Bank Holidays.
The Union has warned that "fire and rehire tactics may also be used by the employer to threaten" members, meaning workers could have their "contracts ripped up and be forced to accept new terms that are significantly worse than their existing contract".
Striking teacher forced to take a second job to pay bills ahead of mass walkout
Union workers are being balloted on possible strike action (AP)PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said: "The Government should set the standard as an employer, not resort to this shameful and thoroughly discredited tactic". She added that "the employer can avoid strike action by withdrawing” these "draconian plans", which she described as "an appalling way to treat long-serving, dedicated staff".
Around 1,300 planes take off and land at Heathrow each day, making it one of the busiest airports in the world.
If the workers do decide to strike, it will not be the first time in recent memory that PCS unionised staff members have hit the picket line. At the end of 2022 Border Force workers launched several days of industrial action.
At that point about 1,000 Border Force workers every day for the final week of December. At that time little disruption was caused by the strike, in part because military personnel and volunteers from the Civil Service had been trained to step in. Ahead of the strike passengers heading through airports at that time were urged to use e-gates if they could, to check with operators that there had been no change to their service, and to be "kind and patient" with staff at Border Force.
UK airports and airlines have been relatively unaffected by strikes over the past year, unlike those in other European countries. Today a major German trade union called on Lufthansa ground staff to strike on Thursday and Friday, March 7 and 8, ahead of more negotiations.
Union Verdi is pushing for more industrial action from its 25,000 members as it continues to call for a 12% pay rise. On February 20, most Lufthansa passenger flights were grounded and around 100,000 passengers impacted when workers for the airline walked out.
A spokesperson for the Home Office - of which Border Force is a part - said: "As the public would expect, our priority is to keep our citizens safe and our borders secure. We will be working closely with Heathrow Airport to ensure we have robust plans in place to minimise any delays if strike action goes ahead. We will deploy suitable resources to meet critical demand and support the flow of passengers and goods through our border."
A spokesperson for Heathrow Airport declined to comment when approached by the Mirror.
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