Many people’s family holidays may be ruined by a strike.

The PCS union announced on Wednesday that UK Border Force staff will be on strike at several UK airports over the Christmas and New Year travel period. UK Border Force staff are also responsible for the passport control process at border crossing points.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Mark Sirotka said in his briefing on Wednesday:

Border police workers at London’s two largest airports, Heathrow and Gatwick, as well as at Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow and Manchester airports, have been on strike from December 23-26 and December 28-31, for eight days.

On the same days, border officials at the very busy Newhaven ferry port in southern England went on strike.

See also  After 50 years, the platypus has returned to Australia's oldest national park

The union justified the action by saying that the government offered only a 2% wage increase for service workers, and refused to raise it even after several negotiations. On the other hand, the PCS is demanding a ten percent wage increase. According to the union leader, under the circumstances, many Border Police workers are “forced to skip meals or cannot heat their homes.” Sirotka added that there could be strikes next year as well, if the government refuses to negotiate on meeting wage demands.




HVG


In addition to diverse, independent and factual information, our readers who join the Pártoló membership can also enjoy a number of benefits for their financial support.
Depending on your membership level, we offer, among others:

  • We send you an exclusive weekly digest of the interesting things in the world;
  • You can gain insight into the work of HVG, you can meet our authors;
  • You can take part in pre-premier screenings of the latest films, in various events;
  • You can buy HVG books and publications at a discount;
  • You can read hvg360 digital news magazine.