Troops begin training at Heathrow and Gatwick for passport checking roles ahead of Border Force strike
9 December 2022, 11:57
Troops have started training for passport checking roles ahead of Border Force's staff Christmas strike.
Armed forces personnel have arrived at Heathrow and Gatwick ahead of the Border Force strike which is set to paralyse the big Christmas getaway next week.
The PCS union announced on Wednesday that Border Force officers will go on strike at Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and Cardiff from 23-26 and 28-31 December after they rejected a 2% pay rise offer from the government.
About 75 per cent of passport control staff are PCS members, meaning the majority of staff checking passports will be going on strike.
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The Cabinet Officer has said up to 600 military personnel and 700 civil servants were being trained to support a range of services - including Border Force at airports and ports - in the event of strike action.
The Home Office has warned the strikes are likely to lead to longer queues at passport control at one of the busiest times of the year for airports and Home Secretary Suella Braverman said people looking to go abroad should 'think carefully' about their travel plans.
Airports have advised travellers to check the status of their flights before travelling.
On a visit to an RAF base Prime Minister Rishi Sunak thanked military personnel for stepping in and missing their Christmas.
He said: "We all owe them an enormous debt of gratitude."
He added that his priority is to "protect lives and to minimise the disruption on people's lives" but insisted the government will always "try and act fairly and reasonably" with public sector pay.
"What I'm not going to do is ask ordinary families up and down the country to pay an extra £1,000 a year to meet the pay demands of the union bosses. That wouldn't be right and it wouldn't be fair."
The use of troops to cover striking workers has proved contentious, with senior military figures saying they should not be made to give up Christmas.
Armed forces personnel are banned by law from striking themselves and most soldiers are already paid less than those going on strike, while their pay scales have not kept up with inflation.
