Members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) working for the Identity and Passport Service are to strike on 13 October in a dispute over pay.
The union warned that the strike, followed by work-to-rule action running from 14-20 October, will affect sites across the UK, causing severe disruption to passport processing.
The union claims management has failed to deliver on the union’s pay claim for 2006-07, despite assurances to settle as quickly as possible. The PCS fears a repeat of last year, when management dragged out the pay settlement for more than 12 months, it said.
Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, said: “The union has been pressing for a formal pay offer, but management have shown a distinct lack of urgency by dragging their feet and cancelling pay negotiations.”
The PCS represents about 2,500 staff working in London, Peterborough, Newport, Durham, Belfast, Liverpool and Glasgow.
Separately, the government has announced details of its proposed ID cards scheme. The cards will prove eligibility to work and provide employers with a simple, secure means of checking entitlement to work, the government said.
The project is estimated to cost about £5.4bn over the next 10 years.
