Hundreds of border force officers at Heathrow Airport go on strike from the end of the month.
The 650 members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union will be on strike for 23 days.
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Strike action will take place from 31 August to 3 September at which point a work-to-rule, where no overtime is undertaken and minimal work is done, will begin and continue until 22 September.
The long-running dispute centres on enforced changes to terms and conditions – including the introduction of inflexible rosters – and began in April.
The union said 160 staff have left the border force due to the lack of flexibility.
Part-time workers and partially retired staff are being forced to change their working hours and practices, the PCS added, while new staff members are having their flexible work applications refused.
Many strikes have been threatened in the last years but few have materialised as management acceded to demands.
“We know our strike action is likely to cause serious disruption to travellers using Heathrow at the end of the summer, but the strike can be avoided if the employer listens to the concerns of our members,” said the PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote.
Heathrow is not just the UK’s busiest airport but the largest in Europe too.
Heathrow insists they will work closely with Border Force to support contingency measures during strike periods.
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Source Agencies
