Staff at the Metropolitan Police are set to stage a major strike on one of the force's busiest nights of the year, New Year's Eve, in an escalating row over pay and conditions.
Strike Action Details and Potential Impact
The industrial action, organised by the trade union Unite, will last for 25 hours, beginning at 6am on 31 December. The union warns the walkout will cause significant disruption and could lead to delays in emergency callouts as hundreds of thousands of people celebrate across London.
Approximately 175 workers from the Met's central command are expected to participate. The roles involved are critical to police operations and include:
- Emergency call handlers
- Office staff
- Fleet service personnel
- Technicians
The Heart of the Pay Dispute
Unite states that its members, who are police staff rather than sworn officers, have not received a pay increase for the 2025/6 period. This is in stark contrast to police officers across the Met and the UK, who were granted a 4.2 per cent pay rise.
The union claims the Metropolitan Police presented two provisional offers of 3.8 per cent or 4.2 per cent. However, Unite says these were conditional on staff accepting "vastly inferior conditions", a move they have firmly rejected.
Union Leaders Condemn Met's Position
Unite's General Secretary, Sharon Graham, strongly criticised the force's approach. "It is unacceptable that our members in the Met are the only workers in UK police forces that have not yet had their pay rise," she said. "It is a disgrace that the Met has dangled the carrot of a pay rise but is also offering the stick of attacks on workers' terms and conditions."
Keith Henderson, a Unite regional officer, expressed sympathy for Londoners' concerns but emphasised the staff's position. "Our members at the Met feel they have no choice but to strike in their fight for a fair pay rise," he stated. "They are being financially penalised by their employer for poor management decisions and cuts that were not their fault."
Henderson added that the Met still has an opportunity to avert the strike by returning to negotiations with a fair offer that matches other forces and does not undermine terms and conditions.
The Metropolitan Police has been approached for comment regarding the planned industrial action and the union's claims.
