STAFF at the Criminal Records Bureau will start a work to rule today which union officials warned could double the time it takes for prospective teachers, nurses and foster parents to obtain clearance to work with children.
Up to 450 members of the Public and Commercial Services Union at the Liverpool-based organisation will take the action in protest at a 0.5% pay rise.
The union will urge its members to refuse to work overtime and not to exceed targets for processing criminal record checks.
These take around four weeks but the union said it could now take more than eight.
The action comes during the final week of voting for strikes over the government’s public sector pay policy.
