Border Force and Home Office staff could go on strike to ground Rwanda migrant flights and block tough new laws to tackle Channel boats as militant union warns members have ‘no stomach’ for the job
- The Public and Commercial Services union warned its members could walk out
- The union has already joined legal action fighting against the Rwanda scheme
Home Office and Border Force staff could walk out on strike if they are asked to back the government’s tough new immigration plans, a senior trade union figure warned today.
The militant Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union warned its members could walk out rather than help send deportee flights to Rwanda or implement a new law designed to tackle the number of migrants crossing the Channel in small boats.
The PCS, which has tens of thousands of members has already joined legal action against the Rwanda scheme, signed at a cost of £120m by then home secretary Priti Patel in April 2022. It has yet to deport a single migrant due to a mass of legal challenges.
The PCS is also against the Illegal Immigration Bill, which will bar arrivals from applying to stay on refugee, modern slavery or human rights grounds. They will also not be allowed to bring judicial reviews or get bail for at least 28 days.
Only children and the gravely ill will be allowed to remain in Britain while cases are considered.
The PCS’s head of bargaining, Paul O’Connor, told the Independent today: ‘There will be no stomach amongst our members for implementing the Rwanda deal and Illegal Migration Bill, and they will inevitably come to their trade union to see if there is recourse to stop it happening.
‘If any litigation fails, they will want to explore with us whether there’s an industrial solution.’
The militant Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union warned its members could walk out rather than help send deportee flights to Rwanda or implement a new law designed to tackle the number of migrants crossing the Channel in small boats.
The PCS, which has tens of thousands of members has already joined legal action against the Rwanda scheme, signed at a cost of £120m by then home secretary Priti Patel in April 2022. It has yet to deport a single migrant due to a mass of legal challenges.
Ministers will this week launch an advertising campaign targeted directly at potential migrants to deter them from attempting to enter Britain on small boats.
The social media blitz will start in Albania, which accounts for a disproportionate number of the 45,000 Channel migrants who arrive each year.
The Home Office says it will counter ‘the vile lies of people smugglers and spell out the consequences for people who arrive illegally’.
One advert shows police detaining a migrant, while another shows a packed dingy. Both carry warnings in English and Albanian that ‘if you come to the UK illegally you face being detained and removed’.
It will coincide with a ‘migration tour’ by immigration minister Robert Jenrick, who will this week visit Algeria, Tunisia, Italy and France.
Ministers will this week launch an advertising campaign targeted directly at potential migrants to deter them from attempting to enter Britain on small boats
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