Inverclyde’s MP has called on Rishi Sunak’s Government to show the “same attitude” in dealing with public service workers as their counterparts at Holyrood as passport office staff begin a five-week strike.
More than 1,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) from eight sites are taking industrial action over jobs, pay, pensions, and conditions.
Picket lines are mounted outside officers in Glasgow, Durham, Liverpool, Southport, Peterborough, London, Belfast, and Newport in Wales.
The union's general secretary Mark Serwotka has written to the UK Government calling for urgent talks in a bid to resolve the dispute.
He has accused ministers of treating its own employees differently to others in the public sector after negotiations were held with unions representing health workers and teachers.
Inverclyde MP Ronnie Cowan said: “It is sad that once again we see a UK Government department affected by strike action as a result of a Tory government which seems to lurch from one strike to the next, offering its workforce zero concessions.
"As the Tory cost of living crisis continues to deliver record inflation, workers will rightly want to see their wages retain as much value as possible.
"The Scottish government has negotiated fair settlements with its public service workers, and it is about time we saw the same attitude from the Tories at Westminster."
Stuart McMillan, constituency MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, added: “Last year we all knew of someone or were ourselves affected by passport office delays.
"We all want to see staff paid what they deserve and receive a Living Wage, so I would urge the UK Government to get round the table and resolve this dispute as soon as possible so that people’s holiday plans aren’t affected this summer like they were last year.”
Mr Cowan also told the Telegraph that his staff have already met with the Home Office in a bid to understand what implications the strike may have on his constituents.
He added: "We have been told that problems which arose during Covid have now been addressed, including the implementation of a new, fairer queueing system and the recruitment of more staff.
"I am also being told that 99.6 per cent of applications are processed within 10 weeks, most within five weeks.
"While the Passport Office says the strike should not impact normal applications, it does acknowledge that fast-track applications may be affected.
"My advice to constituents is to get applications in as soon as possible.”
The union is stepping up strikes, with a nationwide walkout of more than 130,000 civil servants planned for April 28.
The Home Office said the Passport Office has already processed more than 2.7 million applications this year, adding over 99.7% of standard applications are being processed within 10 weeks, with the majority of those delivered to customers well under this timescale.
There are currently no plans to change official guidance which states that it takes up to 10 weeks to get a passport.
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