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PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Home Office: Industrial Disputes (8 October 2024)

Question Asked

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what industrial disputes are ongoing within (a) her Department and (b) each of the arm’s length bodies connected to her Department; how many (i) staff and (ii) contractors are involved in each dispute; what the form of industrial action is in each dispute; which recognised trade union is involved in each dispute; what the substantive matter is that is being disputed in each case; and what steps she plans to take to end each dispute.

Asked by:
Nick Timothy (Conservative)

Answer

Home Office

No recognised trade union currently holds a mandate to call industrial action in the Home Office.

The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) trade union is in dispute with the Home Office regarding the implementation, on 29 April 2024, of a new shift roster for Border Force employees working at the Primary Control Point (PCP) at Heathrow Airport.

PCS had a mandate to call strike action and action short of a strike (overtime ban and work to rule) at Heathrow between March and September 2024. That mandate has now expired, and the Home Office has not yet been notified of a further ballot. The most recent PCS notice of industrial action at Heathrow, issued in August 2024, called on 653 employees to take part in the action. There are no contractors in scope of the dispute.

Border Force management remain open to discussing concerns regarding the roster with PCS with a view to resolving them in a way that meets business needs.

Home Office Arms’ Length Bodies

PCS currently has a mandate for strike action in the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). This mandate remains valid until 14 November 2024. This mandate is in respect of a Civil Service wide dispute over pay, pensions and job security. The number of DBS employees included in the ballot was 646. No contractors were in scope of the ballot.

No recognised trade union currently holds a mandate to call industrial action in any other Home Office ALB.


Answered by:
Dame Diana Johnson (Labour)
15 October 2024

Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.