Borders staff strike on eve of Olympics

The Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) said its members will walk out next Thursday, and will take other forms of industrial action, such as a ban on overtime, from next Friday to August 20.

The action will hit border controls at ports and airports including Heathrow, threatening disruption to people travelling to London for the Games.

Home Secretary Theresa May branded the PCS’s decision “shameful” as she joined the chorus of disapproval at the announcement yesterday and said Ministers would put contingency plans in place,

Labour leader Ed Miliband also spoke out against the move, saying: “People should not be disrupting the Olympic Games.”

And Prime Minister David Cameron condemned the strike, insisting the Olympics would be safe and secure regardless of any industrial action.

“I do not believe it will be right,” he added. “I do not believe it will be justified.”

John Cridland, director general of the CBI, said: “For the PCS to go on strike on this key day beggars belief. For it to happen because of a vote by 11 per cent of staff is simply outrageous.”

But Labour MP Labour MP John McDonnell, who chairs the PCS Parliamentary Group, said the Government had ignored the union’s warnings for more than a year.

“The Government has brought this dispute on its own head. The UKBA and passport staff have been raising their concerns over job cuts and the impact on services for over 12 months now.”