Met Police staff announce New Year industrial action

Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union members working for the Metropolitan Police will next year refuse managers’ instructions to go into the office for additional unnecessary days.

The dispute – the first time Met Police employees have ever taken industrial action – will see more than 2,400 civilian staff battling against a directive to increase their attendance from 40% to 60%, from 60% to 80% or from 80% to 100%.

The action starts on January 6 and will continue indefinitely. It has been provoked by managers reneging on a deal – blended working – that allowed staff to work from home part of the week.

PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said: “Rather than plucking a random number of days out of a hat to decide how many days a week people should work in the office, a responsible employer would listen to the people they manage to understand how to get the best out of them.

“The government has produced no evidence to show office attendance improves productivity – in fact research shows the opposite – and this imposed one-size-fits-all approach to working in the office has no flexibility to allow our members to work the way that suits them, and the public, best.”

PCS members working at the Office of National Statistics have already voted for strike action over compulsory office attendance. Members at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs are campaigning for a four-day week after research showed it could deliver £20m+ savings a year. Members at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government are also campaigning for a four-day week.

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