The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union has listed the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) among workplaces taking industrial action on Thursday 24 September, according to StrikeCalendar.co.uk. Walk-outs will affect the London and East Kilbride service centres that issue Emergency Travel Documents (ETDs) and process ‘support-in-kind’ visas for UK nationals abroad. Although consular activity is deemed critical, minimum-service agreements do not cover all back-office roles. During previous strikes in April, ETD turnaround times doubled from 24 to 48 hours, leaving some expatriates unable to board repatriation flights. Corporate security teams overseeing high-risk assignments should therefore plan for potential delays if staff lose passports or require replacement documents at short notice. The FCDO says contingency measures are in place, including remote processing by staff in Madrid and Ottawa, but advises applicants to ‘allow additional time’. Employers running rotational schedules—such as oil & gas or maritime crews—need to factor in the risk of crew-change disruption. The strike is part of PCS’s wider dispute over pay and pensions across the civil service. Talks with the Cabinet Office resumed this week but produced no breakthrough. Further rolling action could follow in October, potentially coinciding with the conference-season travel spike. Mobility managers should circulate updated contact points for 24-hour consular assistance and remind assignees to keep digital copies of passports and visas in secure cloud storage.
Source: StrikeCalendar.co.uk
