Around 300 Border Force staff have left their jobs amid an ongoing dispute over changes to their rotas, according to the PCS union.
The union has announced that more than 550 Border Force officers will be balloted next month by the PCS union over the“inflexible” roster introduced last April.
Border Force officers at Heathrow took 11 days of strike action and 53 days of action short of strike last year over the imposition of the new working patterns.
PCS said the change has “forced staff into a complicated pattern of long shifts with a lack of flexibility [that] disproportionately affects those with caring responsibilities”.
The union said Border Force management had agreed to review the system but refused to address issues around work-life balance, the length of shifts and difficulties in booking and swapping leave.
Around 300 staff have left the organisaiton due to the inflexible nature of the roster, which does not allow for flexible working arragements or reasonable adjustments, according to PCS.
In a recent survey conducted by the union on the ongoing impacts of the roster change, 87% of respondents said they were unhappy or mostly unhappy with the new system.
PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said: “We warned managers what would happen if they pushed ahead with these unpopular and unworkable rosters, but they ignored us and pushed ahead anyway.
“They’re now paying the price for their stubbornness and refusal to listen to their staff, some 300 of whom have since left the Border Force.
“If managers want to maintain a well-resourced, well-motivated Border Force, they would work with us to introduce new rosters that better suit their staff.”
The ballot will run from 6 to 27 February.
CSW has contacted the Home Office for comment.