Travel disruption looms for Monday, 12 October, after the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union added Border Force to its UK-wide industrial-action calendar. According to the independently-compiled Strike Action Calendar, the walk-out will involve passport-control officers at several major airports and seaports, although precise head-counts and location details have not been published. Border Force industrial action has historically resulted in longer queues at eGates, manual document checks for non-EEA nationals and knock-on delays to domestic rail and coach services that feed airport terminals. The Home Office has contingency plans that include deploying trained volunteers from other government departments, but previous strikes still saw waits of up to two hours at Heathrow and Gatwick. For employers, the timing is awkward: 12 October marks the start of many corporate ‘return-from-half-term’ assignment cycles. Mobility teams are advised to re-ticket time-critical travellers onto earlier flights, alert assignees arriving with dependants to bring additional snacks and medication for possible queueing, and warn visitors relying on tight onward rail connections. Carriers have not yet announced schedule changes, but European short-haul operators typically pad turnaround times when a Border Force strike is confirmed. PCS argues that the action is necessary to protest pay restraint and roster changes that it claims are driving experienced officers out of the service. The union says it will suspend the strike if the Home Office offers “meaningful dialogue” over allowances for antisocial hours and overtime. Global employers should monitor Home Office social-media channels and airport websites for real-time updates and may wish to remind employees that aggression towards overstretched staff can lead to refusal of entry under existing UK immigration regulations. If the strike proceeds, travellers holding biometric residence permits or eVisas should download their status files in advance in case spot checks are carried out at manual kiosks. Companies using time-critical air-freight for product samples should also factor in potential customs backlogs.
Source: Strike Action Calendar
