The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union has declared new strikes, which will affect ports in South East England later this week.
PCS Border Force employees in Dover, Calais, Dunkirk, and Coquelles will go on strike from Friday, February 17 to Monday, February 20. (until 7am).
An email from HMRC’s Joint Customs Consultative Committee (JCCC) warns of delays for goods transiting to the UK via UK border controls in the French ports of Calais and Dunkirk, as well as the Coquelles Eurotunnel Terminal.
Businesses planning to move goods during this time should be aware that there may be disruption and delays at south-east ports and inland border facilities (IBFs), and that they should factor this into their plans.
More rail activity
Meanwhile, additional rail strikes are possible after the RMT union rejected train operators’ “best and final” 9% pay offer, according to the Telegraph.
The RMT’s national executive committee meets today (15 February) to consider new dates, with branch leaders calling for “strikes on every Saturday for the duration of the dispute apart from May [and] a continuous three-day strike starting on the first Monday of May”.
The next rail strikes would be on the 18th and 25th of February, the 4th and 11th of March, and the 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th of April.
Royal Mail
Following a legal challenge by Royal Mail, a two-day postal strike scheduled for February 16 and 17 has been called off.
The Communication Workers Union’s strike mandate expires this month, and no new dates will be announced until members vote on whether to extend the strike for another six months.
Strike Days
According to ONS data obtained by the Guardian, more working days were lost due to strike action last year than at any other time since 1989.
The Office for National Statistics reported that 843,000 working days were lost in December, the highest monthly figure in more than a decade, due to widespread strikes involving NHS, rail, and Royal Mail workers, as well as civil servants working for Border Force.
