LONDON - Border Force workers at several major British airports including the country’s busiest, London’s Heathrow, will go on strike for several days over the Christmas period in a dispute over pay, the PCS trade union said on Wednesday.

The union said staff employed by the Britain’s interior ministry, the Home Office, in passport booths would take action at Heathrow and Gatwick airports as well as Birmingham Airport, Cardiff Airport, Glasgow Airport, Manchester Airport and the Port of Newhaven.

The union’s General Secretary Mark Serwotka said around 2,000-3,000 staff would be involved in the walk outs on Dec 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30 and 31.

Asked why the union had picked the Christmas period to take industrial action, the union chief said: “Those people will lose pay when they go on strike. They do it as a last resort, and the job of the union is to ensure that the action that we call is noticed.”

A Heathrow spokesman said the airport was working with airlines and Border Force on plans to mitigate disruption.

“The Home Office advises that immigration and customs checks may take longer during peak times on strike days, and Heathrow will support Border Force to minimise these impacts with the aim of processing passengers through the border as efficiently as possible,” the spokesman said. REUTERS