Airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton could be hit by strike action tomorrow by members of the PCS union which includes immigration staff.
The 24 hour strike on 24 April is expected to close around a quarter of the UK’s schools. But it could also lead to delays at passport control if sufficient numbers of immigration workers back the strike.
As well as airports, ports could also be hit, including the Port of Dover which is an important gateway to the continent. Coastguards are also staging a 24 hour strike starting at 7pm tonight. This is their third strike this year, and previous strikes led to the closure of around half of the UK’s rescue coordination centres. The PCS also advised the public to avoid going to sea except for essential journeys.
Altogether around 400,000 people are expected to take part in the PCS strike tomorrow, and as well as airports and ports, driving test centres, benefit offices and the Land Registry could be affected.
Members of the PCS union are striking over the government’s plan to offer pay rises amounting to less than 2% each year for the next three years. Home Office staff are only expected to get a 1% pay rise.
Earlier this year a strike by SeaFrance workers severely disrupted the Port of Dover. A strike by British Airways pilots also threatened to cause travel chaos at airports as pilots objected to new working terms for pilots at BA’s new airline, OpenSkies.
Written by: Nick Purdom