Britons returning from their Easter school holidays will face delays ahead of the strike planned by Border Force workers at Heathrow Airport.
In particular, more than 600 Border Force workers at London airport are to go on strike for four days between 11 and 14 April.
In a ballot held last week, members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union voted 90% in favour of the strike, following disagreements over working conditions and impending changes to shift patterns.
The union said the changes could lead to 250 London airport employees losing their jobs by the end of next month.
PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote urged the government to withdraw “the unfair and unnecessary proposals” or else union members at Heathrow will take industrial action.
“The staff consultation was a farce, with our members having little or no choice about the new arrangements. Removing flexible working arrangements is no way to treat staff, especially when the government says their work is critical to our nation’s security. Some members are devastated that the Border Force has become “unprofessional and inhumane”, Ms Heathcote said.
She called on the government, if it is serious about border security, to look at securing the jobs of Border Force workers, take care of the staff, repeal the changes and work with the union to protect jobs and working conditions.
British Airways cancels 5 % of its programme
The strike at Heathrow forces British Airways to cancel hundreds of flights over the Easter holiday.
In particular, the British airline announced that it is cancelling around 32 flights a day to and from Heathrow airport, representing 5% of its flight schedule.
In a statement, the airline said: “Unfortunately, we have had to make a small number of adjustments to our schedule. We have apologised to customers whose travel plans were affected and offered them a number of options, including re-booking on a new flight with us or another airline, or requesting a full refund.”
For his part, a Heathrow spokesman said contingency plans would be put in place to ensure the airport remained open. “We will not let these unnecessary strikes affect our passengers’ holidays,” he said.
The airport said it will deploy 1,000 additional employees, along with its management team, who will be at the terminals providing assistance to passengers during the Easter holiday.
