Heathrow Border Force Officers to Strike for Four Days

Border Force officers at Heathrow Airport, estimated at around 650, are to hold a four-day strike from August 31, followed by a three-week work-to-rule. Advised by the Public and Commercial Services union, this series of strike affects all terminals at Heathrow—including, 2, 3, 4, and 5. The union explains that this ongoing dispute, which began in April against the imposition of a new roster system, has resulted in nearly 160 staff leaving the force due to the lack of flexibility of their shifts as well as “unfavorable changes to working patterns”.

The strike, dated to conclude on September 3, is followed by a work-to-rule order and an overtime ban taking place until September 22. This is a part of subsequent actions of industrial dispute issues that took place earlier in the months of both April, June and May. It is clear that the workforce and the management of the force have serious ongoing disagreements as shown by a large number of industrial disputes and strikes. At the heart of these disputes may lie long-standing issues such as difficulties with work conditions and a high turnover of staff at one of the largest airports in the world.