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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Chester Zoo announces return of its £10 tickets for limited time only with extended opening hours
Emily Sergeant
Chester Zoo has announced the return of its popular £10 tickets deal for a limited time only.
You may remember that earlier this summer, Chester Zoo invited people from across the North West to visit for just £10, and as the offer proved so popular, they’ve now brought it back again for a limited time.
For the past three years running now, Chester Zoo has officially been named the UK’s best zoo thanks to tens of thousands of positive TripAdvisor reviews, and now as the summer draws to a close, you’ll get to see exactly what makes it such a special place worth visiting for a cut price.
With the offer only applicable to afternoons this summer, Afternoon Tickets allow entry to Chester Zoo from 2pm onwards – with the last entry being one-hour before it closes.
Chester Zoo is offering £10 tickets to visitors this summer / Credit: Chester Zoo
Without this offer, standard admission tickets to Chester Zoo usually cost up to £38 for adults, £37 for students, and £28 for children, all including a 10% donation to the zoo’s conservation efforts, while babies and carers go free.
So it really is worth making the most of these limited-time £10 tickets while you still can – with the offer now running until 6 September.
The best bit about the offer returning? The zoo is currently operating its extended opening hours until 6pm too, so included for the bargain price of a £10 ticket, you’ll even get to see all the animals while the sun goes down.
Afternoon tickets are only available online and must be booked in advance to claim the £10 offer.
Tickets can only be purchased online before 4pm on the day of your visit, and standard admission tickets can be purchased from our ticket office at the main entrance.
Find out more and book your £10 tickets online here.
Featured Image – Chester Zoo
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Manchester Airport releases statement after customer data stolen in ‘targeted’ cyber security attack
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Airport has released a formal statement after data was stolen from 8.7 million customers in a ‘targeted’ cyber security attack yesterday.
Manchester Airport Group (MAG) – which operates Manchester Airport, Stansted, and East Midlands Airport – said the cyber security incident happened at around 1pm yesterday (Thursday 27 August), and that the data seized from 8.7 million customers included email addresses, phone numbers, vehicle registrations, and postcodes.
The data that was stolen related to car park, lounge and Fast Track bookings, and in-airport WiFi sign-ups, MAG stated.
It was initially confirmed that the system the hackers accessed did not hold customers’ bank or payment details, however, and that all other regular airport operations and customer parking continued uninterrupted.
Manchester Airport has now released a formal statement to reassure customers that they are taking the matter ‘extremely seriously’.
The statement reads: “Manchester Airport Group has been subject to a cyber security incident by an unauthorised third party.
“A quantity of customer data has been obtained that relates to car park, lounge and Fast Track bookings and in-airport WIFI sign-ups at Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands airports.
“We immediately contained the risk and have been working with specialist advisors and taking appropriate steps to protect our customers and systems. We have informed and are working with the relevant authorities, and at no point has passenger safety or aviation security been compromised.”
MAG insisted that the incident had not resulted in any ‘operational disruption’, adding: “Airport operations remain unaffected and customer parking services continue to operate normally.
“Neither MAG nor the system accessed hold customers’ bank or payment details. The data that has been accessed includes customers’ email addresses, phone numbers, vehicle registrations and postcodes.
“We would like to reassure customers that Manchester Airport Group takes the security of customer information extremely seriously, and we apologise for any inconvenience or concern caused.”
Emily Sergeant -
8th December 2022 
