HEATHROW AIRPORT HIT WITH BORDER FORCE STRIKES OVER EASTER SCHOOL HOLIDAY RUSH

Hundreds of Border Force officials have voted to walk out over the Easter school holidays.

Families are set to face more holiday travel chaos when 600 workers at Heathrow Airport hit the picket line in a strike over shifts. The industrial action will begin on April 11 and end four days later on April 14. The action coincides with one of the busiest travel periods of the year when many families will be returning from their Easter holidays.

The officers carry out immigration controls and passport checks on behalf of Britain's Home Office. They voted to take strike action last week over new changes to shift patterns, which union leaders have strongly criticised.

PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said: "Ministers have fourteen days to withdraw these unfair and unnecessary proposals or our members at Heathrow will take strike action. Consultation with staff has been a farce, with our members having little or no choice about the new arrangements.

"Ripping up flexible working arrangements is no way to treat staff especially, as the government says, their work is critical to our nation's security. Some members are heartbroken that the Border Force has become ''unprofessional and inhumane'. If the government is serious about border security, it should look at Border Force officers' job security, look after its staff, scrap the changes and work with us to protect jobs and working conditions."

The PCS claims that the changes would leave around 250 workers without a job on passport control and that union members returned a 90% vote in favour of strike action.

When the strike was first announced last week - before the exact dates were confirmed yesterday - a Home Office spokesperson said: "As the public would expect, our priority is to keep our citizens safe and our borders secure. We are working closely with Heathrow Airport and have robust plans in place to minimise any delays from planned strike action.

"We will deploy suitable resources to meet critical demand and support the flow of passengers and goods through our border."

Heathrow is not the only part of the aviation industry being impacted by strikes. Austrian Airlines flight crews walked out yesterday and will do so again today amidst a pay dispute with their employer. As many as 50,000 passengers are expected to be impacted by the industrial action. The airline issued a warning ahead of the strikes telling customers to prepare for disruption on one of the busiest travel weekends across the Continent.

Strike action and maintenance work this week is also likely to impact those travelling through Palma Airport in Majorca. The industrial action began on March 22 and is due to run until March 31, Travel Weekly reports. The strike by workers carrying out security screening will continue until Easter Sunday unless the industrial dispute can be brought to an end.

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2024-03-29T10:10:38Z dg43tfdfdgfd