LONDON--U.K." Immigration officers will stage a 24-hour strike on July 26--the day before the Olympic Games opening ceremony--in a move that threatens to cause chaos at Britain's borders as thousands of tourists arrive for the event and what is meant to showcase London and the rest of the country to the world.
The Public and Commercial Services Union said thousands of Home Office staff who are members of the union, including around 5,000 Border Agency staff, will take part in the industrial action next Thursday.
A PCS spokesman told Dow Jones Newswires that the union would write to Home Secretary Theresa May later Thursday seeking an urgent meeting to discuss workers' concerns about job cuts, pay and conditions.
"The message to government is: You have an opportunity to stop this happening if you talk to us with a genuine desire to stop the cuts and stop the redundancies," the spokesman said. "If they do that we are prepared to listen."
The Home Office, who runs the Border Agency, was not immediately available for comment.
On Wednesday, Immigration Minister Damian Green urged the union not to take protest action, saying a strike would be " irresponsible."
"Any action that disrupts the Olympics will be completely unacceptable and the public will not support it," he said in a statement.
Mr. Green said if industrial action goes ahead, the government will use its "trained pool of contingency staff" to minimize any disruptions."
http://www.nasdaq.com/article/uk-imm...20120719-00958
