Benefit delays and longer passport waits: What PCS union strike could mean for you

A number of key public services across UK will be hit, from traffic management to pensions administration

Traffic at ports could suffer delays if Border Force and road management workers strike (Getty Images)

People who claim benefits could be one of the largest groups hit if tens of thousands of civil servants, including those at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), go out on strike.

But a number of key public services in everyday life across the UK could also be affected, ranging from jobseeker help to the issuing of passports and driving licences. Travellers are likely to suffer disruption at airports and key ports including Dover.

The large-scale industrial action will “reach into every corner of public life”, according to the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union. Rishi Sunak has been warned Britain faces “extraordinary disruption”.

As well as pay and pensions, the dispute covers job cuts and redundancy terms, as the government tries to make cost savings to fund the £50bn gap in the UK’s finances.

Union bosses are demanding “a 10 per cent pay rise, job security, pensions justice and protected redundancy terms”.

They have warned that unless they receive “substantial proposals” from the government, they will next Friday announce a programme of “sustained industrial action”.

The PCS union said 126 areas of work could be hit.

Some of the biggest government departments and public bodies that will be affected are these. Below that is the full list of departments and organisations whose civil servants will take action if the strikes go ahead:

Home Office: People applying for passports and holidaymakers, as an absence of Border Force officials is likely to delay security checks, causing queues

Department for Work and Pensions: Benefits claimants; jobseekers, as Jobcentres close or have fewer staff or hours; pensioners whose incomes are administered by DWP staff

Department for Health and Social Care: Patients could experience delays in receiving notifications of appointments if administrative staff walk out.

National Highways: Emergency traffic management, such as temporary safety signs, and infrastructure maintenance would in all likelihood be affected if traffic officers and control room operators were not working – especially if DfT staff who support the transport network also take action.

Department for Transport: Learner drivers could find their test dates postponed.

Independent Office for Police Conduct: Work on cases where the watchdog is examining alleged wrongdoing by officers could be delayed.

All the bodies, departments and organisations involved are:

• ACAS
• British Museum
• Cabinet Office
• Charity Commission
• Maritime & Coastguard Agency
• Scottish Public Services Ombudsman
• Natural Resources Wales
• Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service
• Independent Office for Police Conduct
• Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
• Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)
• Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS)
• Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)
• Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS)
• Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA)
• Audit Wales
• Audit Scotland
• Department for Education
• Natural England
• Competition Service
• Gambling Commission
• Historic Environment Scotland
• Home Office
• Insolvency Service
• HM Land Registry
• Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra)
• Creative Scotland
• National Galleries of Scotland
• National Museums of Scotland
• National Audit Office
• National Lottery Heritage Fund
• Department for Transport
• National Library of Wales
• National Museums Liverpool
• Gangmasters & Labour Abuse Authority
• Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
• Ofgem
• Competition & Markets Authority
• Office for National Statistics & UKSA
• OFWAT
• Ofsted
• UK Intellectual Property Office
• Vehicle Certification Agency
• Planning Inspectorate
• Transport Focus
• Sports Grounds Safety Authority
• Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
• Equality & Human Rights Commission
• Scottish Enterprise
• NatureScot
• Scottish Government
• Serious Fraud Office
• Skills Development Scotland
• The Council of the RFCAs
• Sport England
• Scotland’s Commission for Children & Young People
• RFCA West Midlands
• Scottish Courts & Tribunals Service
• Visit Scotland
• Government Legal Department
• Parole Board for England & Wales
• Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA)
• Wallace Collection
• Senedd Cymru (Welsh Parliament)
• Scottish Human Rights Commission
• Scottish Prison Service
• Scottish Parliament
• Student Loans Company
• Architecture & Design Scotland
• Higher Education Funding Council for Wales
• National Highways
• Westminster Foundation for Democracy
• Independent Living Fund Scotland
• Rural Payments Agency
• Defence, Science & Technology Laboratory
• Electoral Commission
• Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC)
• Security Industry Authority
• Youth Justice Board
• Local Government Boundary Commission for England
• Northern Ireland Office
• Prisons & Probation Ombudsman
• Wales Office
• Courts and Tribunals Judiciary
• Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority
• Children’s Commissioner for England
• Food Standards Scotland
• Crown Estate Scotland
• Risk Management Authority
• Local Democracy & Boundary Commission for Wales
• UK Debt Management Office
• Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS)
• Social Security Scotland
• Scottish Housing Regulator
• Revenue Scotland
• Department of International Trade
• Bord na Gaidhlig
• Forestry Commission England
• Scottish Forestry
• Leasehold Advisory Service
• Forestry and Land Scotland
• UKSV (Cabinet Office)
• Disclosure and Barring Service
• Veterinary Medicines Directorate
• Institute for Apprenticeships
• Office for Students (OfS)
• Transport Scotland
• Accountant in Bankruptcy
• Disclosure Scotland
• Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA)
• National Records of Scotland
• South of Scotland Enterprise
• Trade Remedies Authority
• UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)
• Office for Health Improvement & Disparities (OHID)