Passport Office workers are gearing up to strike for five weeks over jobs, pay and working conditions
More than 1,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union working in passport offices in England, Scotland and Wales will take part in industrial action which is scheduled to take place in Durham, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Newport, Peterborough and Southport from April 3 to May 5 and in Belfast from April 7 to May 5.
According to the PCS who are coördinating the strike, the action is being taken as a result of a long-running dispute, and comes after months of strikes over pay in other sectors, such as rail, schools, regional BBC journalism and universities.
The strike action is designed to cause as much disruption as possible and is likely to have a significant impact on the delivery of passports over the coming weeks although the Home Office have stated that the strike will not affect its guidance which is still to allow up to 10 weeks to get a passport. The move is also likely to have a negative effect on wait times for British Overseas Territories such as Bermuda as their passports are currently printed in the UK.
