Up to 600 Border Guards at Heathrow Airport in West London are to go on strike for four days just as families rush back to the UK from their holidays in time for the start of the new school term.
The PCS union is calling on its members to down tools from August 31 to September 3 in a long-running dispute over ‘enforced’ changes to staff rotas that has allegedly led to 160 border guards quitting their jobs since April.
The walkout will be immediately followed by an overtime ban and work-to-rule protest that will run from September 4 to September 22.
Border guards have already held seven days of strike action in protest at their new rosters, although so far, at least, the walkouts have not led to any significant delays at passport control.
In previous walkouts, many passengers haven’t been affected because they’ve been able to use automated passport e-gates, but the latest strike could disproportionately hit families with young children who aren’t eligible to use the e-gates and must queue up to see a border guard.
“Our hard-working members at Heathrow take great pride in keeping our country’s border safe, but many are being forced out of the job they love,” slammed PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote on Friday.
“They’re being told by managers to choose between caring responsibilities and their job, which is no choice at all. The only reason they’re being forced to choose is because their managers are forcing them.”
Heathcote admitted that the walkout could cause “serious disruption” to passengers at the end of the busy summer getaway travel period but that the strikes would go ahead unless the UK Border Force makes changes to its new rostering system.
The union claims that the new rotas are having a big impact on women and those with caring responsibilities who have to choose between their jobs and being able to care for their children and loved ones.
In addition, the union claims new staff are being refused flexible working arrangements despite a recent law change that is meant to guarantee employees the right to request changes to their contract from day one of employment.
Border guards voted 90% in favour of taking strike action and the first walkout in protest at the rostering system was timed to coincide with the busy Easter holidays. During that protest, Heathrow Airport reported zero delays at the border.
In 2022, the Home Office called in the Army to staff immigration desks during a separate dispute, although the latest walkouts have not required such drastic intervention.
