Comcern as British Passport Workers to Strike for Five Weeks
By Boniface Ihiasota, USA
The British passport office faces significant disruption as over 1,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services union prepare to go on strike for five weeks from April 3 to May 5.
Excel Magazine International gathered that the strike is part of an ongoing dispute over jobs, pay, and conditions, which has seen sustained and targeted action by the union lasting six months, including two previous massive strikes.
Although it was further learnt that fast-track passport services are available but are more expensive.
The strike could not have come at a worse time, as the passport office is already struggling with a backlog of applications due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
While it typically takes about 10 weeks to renew a passport, tens of thousands of people had to wait even longer in 2022 due to the volume of applications.
PCS General Secretary Mark Serwotka accused the government of ignoring the cost-of-living crisis and treating its workforce poorly, saying that it was a “national scandal and a stain on this Government’s reputation” that so many civil servants were living in poverty.
