Thousands of passport workers have begun a 24-hours strike over staffing shortages and pay.
The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) blames the staffing shortages for the ongoing “backlog crisis” in issuing passports this year.
Around 30,000 people have been affected by the backlog, with some waiting months for their passport, which the Passport Office promises to deliver in three weeks.
The government has cut around 10% of the full-time staff from the Passport Office as “efficiency savings” since 2010.
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said:
“The staffing crisis in the Passport Office has been obvious for everyone to see and it shouldn’t have taken a committee of MPs to force the chief executive to meet us to discuss it.
“We are still a long way off getting a commitment from the agency that it will work with us to put the proper resources in place to ensure these backlogs do not reoccur year after year.”
The Home Office has warned that the strike may affect people’s summer holidays.
The strike will continue until midnight.
