Passport waiting times have been really quick lately following the delays last year. With today’s news that Passport Office workers are to strike for 5 weeks we could see a return of the delays.
When are the strikes?
More than 1000 members of the Public and Commercial services (PCS) who work in passport offices in England, Scotland and Wales are due to strike. Workers in Durham, Glasgow, Newport, Peterborough and Southport with strike from 3rd April to 5th May. Belfast workers plan to strike between 7 April and 5 May.
What do the PCS say?
The union has said it was a “significant escalation” of its long running dispute, warning people it is likely to have an impact on the passport processing times as we approach the holiday season.
The PCS general secretary, Mark Serwotka said:
“This escalation of our action has come about because, in sharp contrast with other parts of the public sector, ministers have failed to hold any meaningful talks with us, despite two massive strikes and sustained, targeted action lasting six months.
“Their approach is further evidence they’re treating their own workforce worse than anyone else. They’ve had six months to resolve this dispute but for six months have refused to improve their 2% imposed pay rise, and failed to address our members’ other issues of concern.
“They seem to think if they ignore our members, they’ll go away. But how can our members ignore the cost of living crisis when 40,000 civil servants are using food banks and 45,000 of them are claiming the benefits they administer themselves?
“It’s a national scandal and a stain on this government’s reputation that so many of its own workforce are living in poverty.”
How will this affect passport waiting times?
Just when people have been receiving their passports really quickly this could potentially have a big impact on waiting times. We have experienced a 500% spike in traffic today since the news was announced. It is very likely people whose passports expire in the summer are seeing this news and are panicking. With the PCS workers planning on striking and a likely surge in applications, this could lead to worse delays than we saw last Spring and Summer.
We will continue to update the website daily with the latest waiting times and also posting feedback from recent applications here
