SUNAK'S SCABS
Military plugs gap as passport control staff strike at UK airports
- 23 Dec 2022
Members of the Public and Commercial Services Union take part in a border force workers strike action near Heathrow Airport, in London, Britain, on Friday. Reuters
Around a quarter of a million passengers were due to arrive at the six affected airports on Friday ahead of the busy Christmas holiday weekend. But while passengers were warned they may face delays, Gatwick and Heathrow both insisted their immigration halls were operating as normal on Friday after the government drafted in armed forces' personnel and civil servants.
Around 1,000 workers at Heathrow, Birmingham, Cardiff, Gatwick, Glasgow and Manchester, and the southern port of Newhaven, took part in the stoppage organised by the Public and Commercial Services (PCS).
It is the first of eight planned between Friday and Jan.1, taking place every day for the rest of the year, except December 27.
It follows stoppages this week by nurses and ambulance workers, angered by the government's refusal to increase pay following years of wage stagnation and a cost-of-living crisis that has left inflation running at nearly 11 per cent.
Nurses will strike again on Jan.18 and 19, the Royal College of Nursing announced on Friday.
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said many Border Force employees were struggling with the cost-of-living crisis. "Forty thousand of our members are using food banks, 45,000 of them are claiming in-work benefits. They are the in-work poor," he told BBC radio, adding that the dispute was also about pensions and job security.
'Reduce inflation'
The past year has seen strike action in a range of sectors from dock workers to lawyers as decades-high inflation has eroded earnings.
The government insists on more modest increases for public sector workers, based on recommendations by independent pay review bodies, in order to bring inflation under control.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was "sad and disappointed" the Border Force action had gone ahead but that the government would not give in to strikes.
"I think we all know that the major economic challenge we all face now is inflation. It's inflation that's eating into everyone's pay packets... and I want to make sure that we reduce inflation," he said.
Postal delivery staff belonging to the Communication Workers Union (CWU) also walked out on Friday for the fifth time this month.
National Highways workers responsible for motorways and major roads in London and southeast England, represented by the PCS, are also conducting their own four-day walkout which started on Thursday.
Railway workers will stage another strike from 6:00 pm on Saturday, Christmas Eve, lasting until early Tuesday.
Also on Saturday, some London bus workers and Environment Agency employees will also launch separate waves of action.
Agence France-Presse
More than 1,000 Border Force officers are expected to walk out at six airports over pay amid the cost-of-living crisis.
Published On 23 Dec. 2022
Passengers at United Kingdom airports experienced long delays after Border Force officers walked out as part of the latest strikes of public sector workers across the country.
More than 1,000 passport control staff are expected to walk out on the first day of a strike that is planned to last until New Year over pay, according to the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS).
The walkout is the latest addition to strikes of nurses, paramedics, and workers in the rail and postal sectors in the biggest wave of industrial action over pay and conditions in Britain for decades.
Following stoppages, the government refused to increase pay following years of wage stagnation and a cost-of-living crisis that has seen inflation running at nearly 11 percent.
The strike, organised by the PCS, is the first of eight planned between Friday and January 1 at six UK airports.
The government has drafted in armed forces personnel and civil servants to operate passport booths at the airports – Heathrow, Birmingham, Cardiff, Gatwick, Glasgow and Manchester and the southern coast port of Newhaven.
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said many Border Force employees were struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.
“Forty-thousand of our members are using food banks; 45,000 of them are claiming in-work benefits. They are the in-work poor,” he told BBC radio, adding that the dispute was also about pensions and job security.
Travellers were warned to expect delays as they might face long queues at passport control that could lead to people being held on planes, disrupting subsequent departures.
“During the periods of industrial action, travellers should be prepared for disruption,” Border Force Chief Operating Officer Steve Dann said.
Heathrow, Britain’s busiest airport, reported “minimal queueing” in its arrivals halls.
“Immigration halls are free flowing … with Border Force and the military contingency providing a good service,” a spokesperson said.
Gatwick, Britain’s second busiest, said passengers should expect longer wait times at passport control between Friday and the end of the year.
“We … anticipate some disruption, but flights are operating normally, arrivals and departures, and we expect that to continue,” Adam Jones, head of passenger operations, told Sky News.
About a quarter of a million passengers are due to arrive at affected airports on Friday.
National Highways workers responsible for motorways and major roads in London and southeast England, represented by the PCS, were also on Friday continuing their own four-day walkout, which started on Thursday.
Railway workers will stage another strike from 6pm (18:00 GMT) on Friday, through Christmas Eve until December 27.
And on Saturday, some London bus workers and Environment Agency employees will also launch separate waves of action.
The Border Force strikes will take place every day for the rest of the year, except for December 27.
UK: Wave of strikes sour Christmas mood, disrupt travel
Border control workers at six major airports have walked off their jobs ahead of the Christmas holiday, disrupting thousands of passengers. France also faces similar strike action.
Border control workers were the latest to join a group of public employees in the United Kingdom who have walked off their jobs this year, in an effort to enforce higher pay rises amid a once-in-a-generation cost-of-living crisis.
The UK government pumped in military personnel and civil employees to keep airports running on Friday, during one of their busiest times of the year.
The strike coincides with train strikes, as well as nurses, ambulances and paramedics strikes that have taken place or were planned for this week. More strikes are scheduled in the new year.
In neighboring France, a strike action among public workers has also soured the Christmas mood. Train strikes on Friday affected many French residents planning to visit their families for Christmas.
Why is the UK striking?
Economic stagnation caused by the coronavirus pandemic and ensuing lockdowns, closely followed by the economic aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has taken its toll on the global economy.
The UK has also been dealing with the exit from the European Union, which has also had an impact on the British economy.
Double-digit inflation, reaching almost 11%, has triggered a cost-of-living crisis, the first of its kind in decades.
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Public sector workers have been trying to use strikes as a tool to pressure the Conservative government to give them pay increases that can address what they see as a the dire situation.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said the only way to improve economic conditions was by bringing down inflation.
In statements on Friday, Sunak was vocal about his rejection of the strike action.
"I am really sad, and I am disappointed about the disruption that is being caused to so many people's lives, particularly at Christmas time,'' he said during a visit to a homeless shelter in London.
Who is striking in the UK?
Border control employees are planning on extending their strikes until the end of the year, with a break only on December 27.
Mark Serwotka, the general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, told BBC radio that the strikes follow disputes over pensions and job security, in addition to cost-of-living struggles.
"Forty thousand of our members are using food banks, 45,000 of them are claiming in-work benefits. They are the in-work poor," he said.
They join thousands of National Health Service nurses who walked off their jobs on Tuesday for 24-hours. The strike was the second this month, in unprecedented action by nurses in some 100 years. Further strikes are planned for January 18 and 19.
Ambulance drivers, paramedics and dispatchers have also announced a strike for December 28, after walking off earlier this week. Other striking professions include post workers and highway maintenance workers.
Strikes are also expected to affect trains and buses on Saturday, Christmas Eve.
Eastward, in France, the shaky global economy this year has also driven public workers to walk off their jobs.
The Christmas weekend could see nearly half of the country's train conductors striking. One third of scheduled train services were canceled on Friday, with 40% more canceled during the weekend, the national rail authority said.
Striking employees are demanding higher pay and more staff, as a similar cost-of-living crisis bites through the economy.
The strikes come as several residents of the UK and France looked forward to a more normal Christmas, after the pandemic disrupted the holiday season during the past two years.
rmt/jcg (AFP, AP, Reuters)
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