A strike by the UK’s Border Force on Friday reportedly resulted in airports operating more smoothly than usual, multiple reports have indicated.
A strike conducted by members of the UK’s Border Force appears to have badly backfired on Friday, with multiple reports indicating that airports actually ran better with military and government department personnel manning passport checks instead of the regular Border Force agents.
The embarrassing state of affairs could not come at a worse time for the force, which has already been accused of making the English Channel migrant crisis worse earlier this year, while senior members of the agency have previously been revealed to have privately belittled the very concept of the borders the organisation is mandated to look after.
Although many passengers arriving in England on Friday had been bracing themselves for extremely long queues as a result of the industrial action, various reports from the likes of The Telegraph, The Guardian, and Manchester Evening News all indicate that no such issues materialised.
In fact, all three publications report passengers as saying that the process was both faster and more professionally administered than usual, with some even saying that they wished that the military and Home Office were left in charge of passport checks forever.
“I was very impressed with the number of servicemen manning both the counters and guiding passengers – they handled me with professionalism and in a calm manner, and within a few short minutes I was through,” one frequent flier reportedly told The Telegraph.
“In comparison, I would say that 80 per cent of the time, you are processed and receive a cold and rude reception by the usual Border Force staff,” he continued. “Do I think this puts the position of the striking force under scrutiny? Yes, and rightly so.”
According to details published by the Public and Commercial Services Union, which masterminding the Border Force strikes, workers have reportedly walked out of the job over a demand for a 10 per cent pay rise, something that they say is justified on the back of rampant inflation in Britain.
However, it looks like the first day of their strike has only hurt their chances of getting what they want, with news that airports are running more smoothly without them likely to only harden the British public to their demands for more pay.
To make matters worse, the Border Force has already been on the receiving end of extremely bad publicity throughout the last twelve months, with the organisation being blamed for making Britain’s illegal migrant crisis on the English Channel even worse.
A report published back in July accused the force of effectively working to help migrants land in Britain, with the paper’s author describing the state agency as “effectively rescuing people and then escorting them into port and enabling them to enter the UK”.
If this was not bad enough, many within the force have openly resisted calls for the agency to do its job, with members of the organisation threatening to strike should they be told to implement “pushback” measures aimed at deterring migrants from crossing into Britain.
Such a mentality appears to permeate right up to the very top of the organisation, with one former chief of the Border Force ridiculing the very idea of the UK’s international border even existing in a speech given while he was departing the position.
“We’re all human beings, we’re all mammals, we’re all rocks, plants, rivers,” former director-general Paul Lincoln reportedly remarked. “Bloody borders are just such a pain in the bloody ass.”