Holidays from hell: Fury as plans for Easter getaways thrown into chaos as Heathrow security workers and passport office staff stage weeks of strikes

• Walkouts are set to start early next month just as busiest period gets under way
• Families warned of ‘significant disruption’ and a race to have passports renewed

Summer holidays are at risk from a five-week strike by passport staff.

The walkouts are set to start early next month just as the busiest period for applications gets under way.

Families were last night warned of ‘significant disruption’ and a race to have passports renewed before the school holidays.

Applicants are being told to allow up to ten weeks to obtain their replacements. At least a million passports would typically be processed over the period of the strike. 

The Public and Commercial Services union, which is behind the planned walkouts, is seeking a 10 per cent pay rise, rather than the 2 per cent on offer.

People wait outside the new Passport Office building near the ExCel Centre in London on Friday

It is also fighting pensions and redundancy changes. MPs warned yesterday that the unions would ‘lose sympathy very, very quickly’ if holidaymakers lost their getaways.

‘We’re already seeing delays creeping into the passport application system again,’ said Greg Smith, a Tory member of the Commons transport committee.

‘It’s deeply unacceptable for a service that hardly showered itself in glory last year to be putting the great British public through misery again in 2023 with strikes that threaten their holidays.

‘People deserve holidays and the ability to get a passport and travel for themselves and their families and it is deeply unacceptable for an arm of the state to be denying them that this year.

‘They need to see sense and get back to work. People were screwed over last year and they’re being screwed over again.’

More potential misery was brewing for travellers after security staff at Heathrow voted last night to strike for ten days.

The walkout, involving over 1,400 staff, will begin on March 31 and end on Easter Sunday, the trade union Unite said.

A general view of the exterior of the former Passport Office building near Victoria Station on Friday

The strike announcement came as the Government moved to end a series of pay disputes with transport and NHS workers. 

Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the PCS, said passport offices would expect 1.25million applications during the five-week strike. He told Times Radio: ‘This is going to have a significant impact, which is why the Government has 14 days before a single passport worker starts strike action.

‘What we are calling for is the same treatment as everyone else: talks, pay offers that improve the 2 per cent – and then these strikes may not happen.’

Deputy Conservative Party chairman Lee Anderson said: ‘My message to the unions on this one would be to be careful what you wish for. 

‘Although the public generally have some sympathy with people taking these strikes, if you start messing with hard-working people’s well-deserved summer holidays then you will lose sympathy very, very quickly.

‘Once people start not getting their passports and can’t travel, people will get really annoyed.

‘One of the biggest complaints I had last year was the backlog of passports and there was little sympathy at the time.

Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, speaks during a strike rally in Trafalgar Square on Wednesday

‘It’s very cynical from the unions to target people’s summer holidays, again abusing their position to hold the country to ransom.

‘They may have seen other public services have had some success in getting pay rises, but this is not the way to do business. The best way is to get round a table and talk.’

Officials are working on contingency plans to mitigate the impact of the strikes.

Clive Wratten of the Business Travel Association said last night: ‘The Passport Office strikes will have devastating consequences for business travel and the UK economy.

‘These strikes will impact businesses across the UK resulting in the loss of sales and deals which will cause further damage to the industry and economy which has so far observed a bounce-back.

‘With over a million applications due to be processed over the strike period we strongly urge the Government to come to an agreement with the PCS as soon as possible, to avoid another summer of discontent.’

It is feared that news of the prospective strike could also trigger a bottleneck, with travellers who were biding their time before renewing suddenly bombarding HM Passport Office.

Members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union on the picket line outside Birmingham Airport in December

It is understood that 55 per cent of examiners, who check and process applications, are members of the PSC union.

Paul Charles of the PC Agency, a travel consultancy, said: ‘It is an utter mess. The Government needs to revise its pay offer and increase it from 2 per cent. 

‘Because pretty well a million people will be caught up in this. It is going to cause severe difficulties in a month where many people are desperately trying to renew their passports in time for summer.

‘In the worst-case scenario, there is a danger of creating a huge surge in cancellations.’

Julia Lo Bue-Said of The Advantage Travel Partnership said: ‘These strikes will only add to the delays people have already been facing and will impact the delivery of passports as summer approaches. 

‘Last year 360,000 people had to wait longer than ten weeks to receive their passports.

‘Long waits for passports will inevitably put people off travelling when the outbound travel industry is recovering from the pandemic.’

Downing Street said ministers would work to mitigate the impact of the strike. A spokesman added: ‘There are no current plans to change the guidance that people should allow up to ten weeks to get a passport.

‘The Home Office will work hard to manage the impact of this strike action to ensure they can still provide the vital service to the British public as you would expect ahead of the summer where we fully acknowledge that many people will want to get away and enjoy the summer.’

A spokesman for travel agent association ABTA also suggested there was no need to panic.

Passport staff in Durham, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Newport, Peterborough and Southport will walk out from April 3 to May 5, while those in Belfast will strike from April 7 to May 5.

Most countries, including Australia, Canada and the USA, need your passport to be valid only for the length of your stay but others require at least six months of extra validity. 

In the EU the expiry date should be at least three months after your intended departure.

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