Travel warning issued as passport office to strike for weeks, here's how it will affect your holiday

A wave of strikes that consumed Britain since last summer doesn’t seem to ease anytime soon, with more and more unions making a stand for higher pay.

The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union which includes passport office workers announced the 'significant' escalation in industrial action.

It also accused the Government of failing to engage in 'meaningful' talks.

Here is how it will impact your holiday plans.

Will you get your passport on time for the holidays?

PCS, which represents civil servants, issued a warning for the upcoming holiday season.

They will be taking industrial action in England, Scotland and Wales starting from April 3, and it is likely to last until May 5.

The strike will involve over 1,000 staff working in Durham, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Newport, Peterborough and Southport. Workers at the Belfast office could also join the walkout - subject to a ballot which closes over the weekend.

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The PCS warned on Friday that the strike action is likely to have ‘a significant impact on the delivery of passports as the summer approaches’.

Last year as Covid restrictions across the globe were lifted there was ‘unprecedented’ demand on the Passport Office as people attempted to renew their documents.

The National Audit Office (NAO) said in a recent report that between January and September 2022, the Passport Office received 7.2 million applications. While 95% of customers received their documents within 10 weeks, a staggering 360,000 experienced longer waits.

‘Ministers have failed to hold any meaningful talks with us’

PCS General Secretary Mark Serwotka believes that the Government is to blame for the walkout.

He said in a statement:

This escalation of our action has come about because, in sharp contrast with other parts of the public sector, ministers have failed to hold any meaningful talks with us, despite two massive strikes and sustained, targeted action lasting six months.

According to Serwotka, the Government had six months to resolve this dispute but ‘failed to improve their 2% imposed pay rises’ and their approach is ‘further evidence they're treating their own workforce worse than anyone else’.

Mr Serwotka added:

They seem to think if they ignore our members, they'll go away. But how can our members ignore the cost-of-living crisis when 40,000 civil servants are using food banks and 45,000 of them are claiming the benefits they administer themselves?

The PCS executive called it ‘a national scandal and a stain on this government's reputation’.

The Passport Office is one of just dozens of Government departments taking part in strike action in their dispute over jobs, pay and conditions.

The announcement of escalated action came as health unions representing ambulance workers and nurses reached a new offer with ministers on Thursday. Backed by the Royal College of Nursing, the GMB and Unison, it includes a one-off lump sum for 2022-23 that rises in value up the NHS pay bands as well as a permanent 5% rise on all pay points for 2023-24.

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Sources used:

- Mirror: 'Passport staff to strike for FIVE WEEKS as Brits planning on holidays issued warning'