Passport Office staff to start five-week strike over pay and pensions
Passport Office workers will launch a five-week strike on Monday in the increasingly bitter civil service dispute over jobs, pay, pensions and conditions.
More than 1,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) at eight sites will walk out in an escalation of the long-running row.
Picket lines will be mounted outside the offices in Glasgow, Durham, Liverpool, Southport, Peterborough, London, Belfast and Newport in Wales.
The union said those taking action will be supported by a strike fund.
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka has written to the Government calling for urgent talks in a bid to resolve the dispute.
He has accused ministers of treating its own employees differently to others in the public sector after negotiations were held with unions representing health workers and teachers.
The union is stepping up strikes, with a nationwide walkout of more than 130,000 civil servants planned for April 28.
Ten weeks
The Home Office said the Passport Office has already processed more than 2.7 million applications this year, adding over 99.7% of standard applications are being processed within 10 weeks, with the majority of those delivered to customers well under this timescale.
There are currently no plans to change official guidance which states that it takes up to 10 weeks to get a passport.
Meanwhile, Heathrow said the airport continues to operate as normal and security lanes are free-flowing despite an ongoing strike by security guards.
Contingency plans are “working well” an airport spokesman said, adding: “There have been no last-minute cancellations at Heathrow due to these strikes.
“Any cancellations were agreed and actioned at the start of the week, giving passengers advance notice.
“Any additional cancellations today are an airline decision and not connected to these strikes.
“This could include a number of factors such as aircraft issues, crew shortages, weather at outstations or air traffic control issues like the ongoing strikes in France.”
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The general.public should be told the pay rates , the hours worked, the bonuses (if any) ,holiday entitlement,pension rates etc.How much strike pay is paid.As many thousands of peoples lives are going to badly affected it is only right that all these facts are made public especially as any pay Increases are funded by the public.
Strike pay is funded solely by the PCS Union and their members. Not a penny is funded by public money.
Pension rates are, I assume, Civil Service pension scheme rates. I guess it depends whether they are in a Classic, Classic Plus, Alpha or some other scheme.
Are you asking for employer or employee rates?
Holiday is usually 25 days a year, rising to 30 days after a set period of between 5 and 25 years service.
Bonuses in the Civil Service? Are you having a laugh!