Border Force officers at Manchester Airport are set to stage strike action for eight days over the Christmas period.
As the UK continues to see industries and unions calling industrial action left, right and centre at the moment, with the army now even said to be “on standby” as the country prepares for rail, postal, nursing, ambulance, and lecturer strikes throughout December, staff working in the Border Force at Manchester Airport and several others are to walk-out over Christmas.
PCS Union has announced that its members employed by the Home Office on passport control will take action at Manchester Airport, as well as London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Birmingham, Cardiff and Glasgow airports.
Around 1,000 Border Force staff will walk-out at these airports on 23, 24, 25, 26 28, 29, 30 and 31 December 2022.
The strike action comes after 100,000 PCS members in 214 government departments and other public bodies voted to take strike action, the PCS Union explained, and also follows several other public sector strikes announced by the Driver and Vehicle Standard Agency (DVSA), Rural Payment Agency (RPA), National Highways, and Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
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In all, 86% of PCS balloted members voted in favour of strike action across 124 government departments and public sector employers.
"Currently 40,000 civil servants are using food banks and 45,000 are claiming in-work benefits because they are paid so little. We've had ten consecutive years of pay rises below inflation and this year the gov't has given people 2%, while inflation runs at 11%." ~AA @pcs_unionpic.twitter.com/ddTPExW6Sb
The industrial action set to be taken by Border Force staff is over a 10% pay rise, pensions justice, job security, and no cuts to redundancy terms.
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“The government can stop these strikes tomorrow if it puts money on the table,” explained PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka ahead of the strike action set to take place.
“Like so many workers, our members are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis. They are desperate. They are being told there is no money for them, while they watch ministers giving out government contracts worth billions of pounds to their mates.
“Some sections of the media have accused us of playing politics with these strikes but let me be clear – our dispute is with the employer.
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“We will fight to improve our members’ pay, terms and conditions regardless of who is in Downing Street.”
Border Force officers at Manchester Airport are to strike for eight days over Christmas / Credit: Phil Mosely (via Unsplash)
As Christmas is known to be a busy time at airports across the UK, the strikes by Border Force staff are very likely to lead to longer queues at passport control, the Home Office has warned, and airports are now advising travellers to check the status of their flights before travelling.
The Home Office has explained that the strikes are likely to affect people returning to the UK rather than departing.
The length of delays will depend on how well the Home Office can fill the staffing gaps.
Featured Image – gov.uk
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Onlookers ‘in tears’ after tiny duckling rescued from storm drain in beauty spot
Daisy Jackson
The RSPCA has shared a heartwarming video of a reunion between a tiny duckling and his mum, after the baby bird fell into a storm drain.
The charity, with the help of staff in the nearby Grandpa Greene’s Luxury Ice Cream Parlour, managed to fish the tiny bird out of the storm drain in a painstaking two-hour-long operation.
Miraculously, the duckling was unharmed, and his mum was waiting nearby on the canal in Saddleworth ready to be reunited with her baby.
The RSPCA has now thanked the staff member who helped rescue the duckling, and issued a warning to the public to keep dogs on a lead when near wildlife, believing the poor bird was chased by a dog before falling down the five-feet-high grid.
The rescue operation too place in Diggle last Wednesday 9 April, with Animal Rescue Officer Lee Ferrans taking on the ‘long and painstaking’ process of tempting the duckling into a net.
Lee said: “I wasn’t able to lift the grid so the only thing I could do was push an extendable pole straight down and try to catch the duckling in a net. There wasn’t a lot of room for manoeuvre and the net kept catching on all the debris.
“Just when I thought I’d been successful, the duckling kept disappearing into a drain on one side and then popping out again. A member of staff from Grandpa Greene’s had just finished her shift and came across to the other side of the canal to help me. I unscrewed the top of the pole with the net and held it down on one side of the drain while she used another section to gently encourage the bird to go into the net.
“It was quite a long and painstaking rescue but we eventually managed to bring the little one back up safely after more than two hours.”
The pair then placed the duckling into a cardboard box before heading further up the canal to reunite them with their mother and six sibling ducklings.
The adult duck ‘instantly recognised’ the chirping and swam straight towards it.
Lee added: “A little crowd had gathered and as the family were reunited people were shedding tears. It was a really lovely moment to see them all back together.
“I’d especially like to thank the member of staff from Grandpa Greene’s who offered an extra pair of hands – I couldn’t have done it without her – and to all the people in the area who stopped and were concerned.
“Storm drains can be a bit of a menace for ducklings, especially at this time of the year when there are babies around, and this brood was only a few days old.”
Man jailed for throwing acid in the face of a 16-year-old boy
Daisy Jackson
A man has been thrown behind bars for eight years and two months after throwing a corrosive substance over a 16-year-old boy, leaving him with serious injuries.
When Gilson Martins of Ashton Street, Rochdale, was arrested, he was found to be in possession of acid, being kept in a bottle of hair dye.
He pleaded guilty to robbery, possession of a corrosive substance, and witness intimidation, and was also sentenced for unrelated drugs offences in 2022.
On 24 March 2024, Martins plotted the attack on his 16-year-old victim, even demonstrating to another man how effective the acid would be by using it on a piece of paper.
The victim was then lured to an address in the Woodley area by an accomplice, where he was confronted by Martins.
When an altercation broke out, a corrosive substance was thrown over the teen.
He was taken to hospital with serious injuries which required intensive treatment at a specialist burns unit, with several more procedures taking place since.
When a man spoke to police about the acid attack, Martins attended his home and threatened to ‘stab him, throw acid on him, and carve his name’ into him.
#JAILED| A man has been jailed following an acid attack on a 16-year-old boy in Stockport last year.
Gilson Martins (06/12/01) was arrested by armed police following the attack, and was discovered with an acid-filled bottle of hair dye.
The man in question barricaded himself in his bedroom while Martins knifed the door, fleeing shortly before police arrived.
He was arrested by armed officers on 10 April this year, where he was found with a bottle of hair dye.
Detective Constable Heather Parke, from GMP’s Stockport district, said: “The effects of attacks involving corrosive substances are well-known, and can result in severe, life-changing injuries or even death.
“Using them in attacks is utterly vile and I am glad Martins is now behind bars for his vicious assault. His victim received injuries from which he is still suffering, and has already received numerous treatments.
“We have zero tolerance for these sort of crimes, and we put considerable resources into ensuring that Martins was arrested, charged, and sentenced. He now has a long time to think about his actions inside a prison cell.”
Emily Sergeant -
8th December 2022 
