Passport workers strike over pay

Workers at seven of Britain's regional passport offices are going on strike to protest over pay and cutbacks. The three-day stoppage is intended to disrupt travel plans and may delay the processing of up to 60,000 passports. As well as the regional offices, the Public and Commercial Services Union said the strike by almost 3,000 staff will affect 68 interview offices. The protest is over a dispute with a 2.5% pay deal, which has not been awarded to all staff. The seven regional passport offices affected by the strike are London, Liverpool, Belfast, Glasgow, Peterborough, Newport and Durham. The longest-serving employees have not received a pay rise for the fifth year running. Staff are also angry at the government's passport office closure programme. It is disgraceful that long-serving passport staff should receive no pay... [read full story]