UK Immigration Officials to Strike Day Before Olympics Begin

[lastlid]

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

[Jamesey]

This is shameful, holding the country to ransom when we should all be pulling together to ensure a successful Olympics.

The quicker they get a fully automated biometric system, the better. Then they can sack the lot of them!

[Dedworth]

I disagree wholeheartedly with the over hyped and future debt mountain Olympics however the UKBA and East Mids Train Drivers are beneath contempt

[andy222]

Got to diagree with you Ded all these cuts have got to stop. Obviously you are in a comfortable position but with prices going up everywhere the working man has to survive..

[Dedworth]

Andy - these UKBA wasters should think themselves lucky to be in employment. I wish I was in as comfortable position as them, maybe they'd like to swap their pension for my shafted Equitable Life one.

Here's a bit about some of the "conditions" they'd rather Joe Public didn't know about :-

Britain’s 500,000 civil servants already receive an array of benefits.

Clothing and property
A leaked dossier on pay and perks earlier this year revealed that civil servants can claim for damaged clothing, handbags and shoes – even if their department was not to blame for the mishap.

The rules mean that a male employee who damaged a £300 woollen suit would be paid £225 if it was 12 months old and £150 if it was two years old.

A female civil servant ripping a £5 pair of tights at work can expect £4.50, even if it was her own fault - tights are replaced minus 10 per cent of their value.

Natural and synthetic clothes can be replaced up to four years and sheepskin, leather and suede clothes and shoes attract compensation up to six years.

Expenses
Some civil servants can even claim expenses from beyond the grave. Up to three relatives of someone awarded an honour such as an MBE can get taxpayers’ money for a cab to Buckingham Palace to receive the insignia if the recipient has died.

Civil servants can also receive ‘goodwill payments’ when ‘neither the department nor you was negligent in causing the loss or damage to personal property’.

Holiday and leave
Civil servants are automatically granted an extra two-and-a-half days off each year on top of a generous allocation of six weeks’ annual leave plus eight bank holidays.

The ‘privilege days’, which mark Christmas, Easter and the Queen’s official birthday, are unknown outside the public sector.

Working hours
Rules on 'compressed hours' mean that civil servants can take as many days off as they like as they do 26 hours a week.

Job-sharers may do 'part -year working or 'flextime' hours.

Those who work from home told they' should not feel under pressure to produce more work or to put in more hours to make up for not being seen in the office.'

Civil servants (when not ‘working from home’, or doing ‘flexi-time’) are automatically being given two and a half extra ‘privilege days’ off each year, in addition to their six weeks’ annual leave and eight bank holidays.

Pay
Pensions 'unmatched in the private sector.'

Anyone over 50 can 'partially retire' to a less demanding job and take some off his or her pension.

Of course, this is on top of the bonuses – worth £2million a month – paid to civil servants who do not have to make a profit, and the sweetheart deals which allow dozens of officials to pay less tax.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz216fH2aAa

[lastlid]

Chief Immigration Officer...

[deeen]

i'm available to work...

[andy222]

Andy - these UKBA wasters should think themselves lucky to be in employment. I wish I was in as comfortable position as them, maybe they'd like to swap their pension for my shafted Equitable Life one.

Here's a bit about some of the "conditions" they'd rather Joe Public didn't know about :-

Britain’s 500,000 civil servants already receive an array of benefits.

Clothing and property
A leaked dossier on pay and perks earlier this year revealed that civil servants can claim for damaged clothing, handbags and shoes – even if their department was not to blame for the mishap.

The rules mean that a male employee who damaged a £300 woollen suit would be paid £225 if it was 12 months old and £150 if it was two years old.

A female civil servant ripping a £5 pair of tights at work can expect £4.50, even if it was her own fault - tights are replaced minus 10 per cent of their value.

Natural and synthetic clothes can be replaced up to four years and sheepskin, leather and suede clothes and shoes attract compensation up to six years.

Expenses
Some civil servants can even claim expenses from beyond the grave. Up to three relatives of someone awarded an honour such as an MBE can get taxpayers’ money for a cab to Buckingham Palace to receive the insignia if the recipient has died.

Civil servants can also receive ‘goodwill payments’ when ‘neither the department nor you was negligent in causing the loss or damage to personal property’.

Holiday and leave
Civil servants are automatically granted an extra two-and-a-half days off each year on top of a generous allocation of six weeks’ annual leave plus eight bank holidays.

The ‘privilege days’, which mark Christmas, Easter and the Queen’s official birthday, are unknown outside the public sector.

Working hours
Rules on 'compressed hours' mean that civil servants can take as many days off as they like as they do 26 hours a week.

Job-sharers may do 'part -year working or 'flextime' hours.

Those who work from home told they' should not feel under pressure to produce more work or to put in more hours to make up for not being seen in the office.'

Civil servants (when not ‘working from home’, or doing ‘flexi-time’) are automatically being given two and a half extra ‘privilege days’ off each year, in addition to their six weeks’ annual leave and eight bank holidays.

Pay
Pensions 'unmatched in the private sector.'

Anyone over 50 can 'partially retire' to a less demanding job and take some off his or her pension.

Of course, this is on top of the bonuses – worth £2million a month – paid to civil servants who do not have to make a profit, and the sweetheart deals which allow dozens of officials to pay less tax.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz216fH2aAa

And what about the mps allowances? And will they take a PAYCUT? I doubt it.

[Dedworth]

And what about the mps allowances? And will they take a PAYCUT? I doubt it.

I don't think you should confuse our elected representatives with greedy public servants who should be grateful to have a job and a nice gold plated pension

With regard to the MP's I guess since the clampdown on expenses they're still doing very nicely but not like the good old days before the Telegraph exposed them. Anyhow 2007/8 seven out of the top ten abusers were like the union fat cats socialist class warriors

Most Expensive MPs 2007/8

Pos Member name Total claimed
1 Eric Joyce £187,334
2 Michael Connarty £183,466
3 Alistair Carmichael £176,190
4 Ben Wallace £175,523
5 Mohammad Sarwar £174,882
6 Charles Kennedy £174,232
7 Janet Anderson £173,556
8 David S Borrow £172,706
9 Jim McGovern £171,989
10 Fabian Hamilton £171,824

7 Lab, 2 Lib Dem, 1 Con http://parliament.telegraph.co.uk/mpsexpenses/home

[andy222]

I don't think you should confuse our elected representatives with greedy public servants who should be grateful to have a job and a nice gold plated pension.

And why not? After all we are all in this together?

[Dedworth]

The bloated public sector is a major reason why we're in the current mess.

[andy222]

I disagree ded I work for the public sector. Its the greedy politicians and buisnessmen that have got us into this mess.

[Dedworth]

Andy there is a chunk of the public sector that provides a necessary and valable service, I was thinking in terms of the quangos, politically correct apparatchiks and the job/vote creation scheme under Labour. 5,221,000 public sector employees. In 2009, there were 6,070,000 up from 5,221,0900 in 1999.

[andy222]

Ded all i can say is that all partys are the same they each blame each other. You can go on about the labour party all you like it wont make a bit of difference. In my part of the country Thatcher ruined us. She wrecked our industry. The toiries privatised everything and now we have nothing left. The labour party on the other hand didnt do anything to put it back.

[Dedworth]

Fair points Andy.

Labour did a lot for Liverpool if I'm not mistaken aren't most of the folks who "work" employed in the hugely expanded public sector there