FCDO staff continue strike action as union urges new foreign secretary to intervene over job cuts

PCS members working for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) continue to strike from today (22 July), with further walkouts taking place throughout the week. The union has also announced two further strike days on 12 August and 26 August 2026, alongside continuous action short of strike (ASOS) from 31 July on all non-strike days, as it calls on the new foreign secretary to intervene in a dispute over plans to cut up to 2,000 jobs.

The action is part of the first strike by FCDO staff since 2011 and follows the department’s continued refusal to guarantee there will be no compulsory redundancies as part of its FCDO2030 restructuring programme.

PCS has written to the new foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, urging him to step in and help bring the dispute to a resolution. The union has warned that plans to reduce the workforce by between 15% and 25% risk stripping the department of experienced staff at a time when the UK is facing significant international challenges, including the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.

The union says ministers now have an opportunity to reset relations with staff and engage meaningfully to avoid unnecessary job losses and protect the department’s ability to deliver critical diplomatic, development and consular work.

The union also remains concerned that the department is failing to follow agreed Civil Service redundancy principles and that staff are being put at unnecessary risk through an unfair restructuring process.

PCS general secretary, Fran Heathcote, said:

Strike action is always a last resort, but FCDO management has left our members with no choice.

It is unacceptable that a government department is pushing ahead with a major restructure while refusing to give workers the basic assurance that they will not be forced out of their jobs.

Our members deserve transparency, fairness and respect. Instead, they have been met with uncertainty and a refusal to provide the information needed to properly scrutinise these plans.

The department could end this dispute today by doing the right thing: rule out compulsory redundancies and engage meaningfully with PCS.