Met Police: vote for strike action over return to office working

Metropolitan Police staff have voted to go on strike over office working.

A Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) ballot showed overwhelming support for industrial action, with 85% of members who voted saying yes to taking strike action and 91% voting for action short of a strike.

The PCS said it showed the depth of feeling after managers reversed an existing agreement on blended working that allowed staff to work from home part of the week.

The new policy, which the union says requires staff to work in the office for between 60% and 100% of the time, would affect 2,400 people who support the day-to-day work of police officers.

The PCS said the policy “disproportionately impacts” women, part-time workers and those with disabilities.

According to the union, it is the first time Met Police employees have voted for industrial action.

The Met Police previously said staff had been asked to increase their time in the office, to support the front line and improve public trust.

Scotland Yard is yet to respond to the BBC’s request for comment but a Metropolitan Police spokesperson is quoted in the Telegraph saying: “Our plans will provide consistency across the Met and ensure we can deliver for our communities.

“Although the threshold for strike action has been met, it doesn’t have to go ahead and we urge our staff and the union not to take further action.”

PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said: “Our members are not bobbies on the beat.

“They are desk-based civilians who work from home just as productively as if they were in the office, but without the stress and cost of a daily commute.”

She added: “It’s time politicians and the right-wing media stopped their obsession with telling people where they have to work and started listening to the evidence of academics, employers and employees that shows working from home is a perfectly viable option for many people.”