Workers at the UK passport office start strike over wages

The British passport office employees started a five-week strike as the civil service conflict over jobs, pay, pensions, and conditions grew more acrimonious.

In a worsening of the protracted dispute, more than 1,000 Public and Commercial Services union members left eight locations, according to PCS General Secretary Mark Serwotka on Monday.

Picket lines will be set up in front of the offices in Glasgow, Durham, Liverpool, Southport, Peterborough, London, Belfast, and Newport, Wales, according to Serwotka.

A strike fund will support individuals participating, according to the union.

Serwotka had written to the administration requesting immediate negotiations in an effort to settle the conflict.

After talks with the unions that represent teachers and health workers were held, he accused ministers of treating their own staff differently from other members of the public sector.

With a nationwide walkout of more than 130,000 civil servants scheduled for April 28, the union is ratcheting up strikes.

More than 2.7 million applications have already been processed this year, according to the Home Office’s report.

It also stated that the bulk of regular applications—over 99.7%—were delivered to clients well before this deadline and were processed within 10 weeks.

But, there are presently no plans to alter the official advice, which specifies that getting a passport can take up to 10 weeks.