Summer airport strikes loom

Monday, 28 Jul, 2009 0

Holidaymakers are in for long waits next week as immigration officers at UK airports including Heathrow prepare to strike.

A ballot announced yesterday at the Public and Commercial Services union revealed 78% of the 1,100 immigration workers it represents had opted to take strike action following discord over the plans to merge customs and immigration into a single UK Border Agency.

The officers argue that the move will mean they are required to carry out tasks which they did not previously have to do such as strip searches and arrests.
 
The union will meet today to decide whether to go ahead with the strike. If it goes ahead it looks like the first strike will be on August 5, which is the date the formal merger comes into effect.
 
And matters could worsen as the Immigration Service Union, which has 4,000 members, prepares for its own ballot on the matter.
 
By Dinah Hatch



 

profileimage

Bev

Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.



Most Read

Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know

Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham

Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago

Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research

Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact

Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference

Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role

Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal

Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination

Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness

Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future

Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
TRAINING & COMPETITION
Skip to toolbar
Clearing CSS/JS assets' cache... Please wait until this notice disappears...
Updating... Please wait...