Border patrols at Britain's airports may be left short-staffed as the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) have voted to strike for twenty-four hours next week on Thursday, July 26, the day before the opening of the 2012 Olympic Games in London. PCS members working in the Home Office, which operates the Border Agency, voted for the strike on Wednesday to protest against the loss of jobs at the Home Office, as well as pay and conditions of workers.
Following the strike, union workers will also take other action including working to rule and a ban on overtime.
Prime Minister David Cameron has condemned the strike: "I do not believe it will be right. I do not believe it will be justified." 
Jeremy Hunt, the culture secretary, said the behaviour of the PCS was "totally irresponsible". Theresa May, the Home Secretary, described the strike as "shameful" and noted the government will put in contingency arrangements.
Mark Serwotka, the head of the union, described the government's reaction as "hysteria" and claimed "there'll be no disruption to the Olympics".

Have an opinion on this story? Share it!
Share this: 






This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.
Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.
Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.
Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.
Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.
Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.
UK border officers go on Olympic strike