Palace of Westminster Security Officers to be balloted to renew strike mandate

Last summer, PCS members employed as security staff at the Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament) voted by 98% in favour of strike action and 99.5% of members voted yes to taking action short of a strike.

The key issues in the dispute are the loss of annual leave, changes to rotas and break patterns, the stagnation of pay and a widening ethnicity pay gap.

Members took strike action in September, November and December 2025, alongside action short of a strike consisting of an overtime ban and work to rule.

There has been some progress in negotiations but the offers made so far do not go far enough.

The original strike mandate ran out at the end of January so members will be re-balloted from 19 February to 12 March.

Management has also introduced a new job role of “perimeter officer” which is a pay grade higher than traditional security officers, however there seems to be very little difference between the roles. This has led to suspicion that the role was introduced to create a divide amongst the security officers and to be used as cover for striking staff.

What members say

One member said: “When such a high majority of staff feel unfairly treated, this is enough to warrant action.  We have started a process (a fight/strike), and I for one, do not intend to back down until such time as this is resolved satisfactorily.”

Another agreed with continuing the dispute: “I work full time, with annual leave being taken away and no pay increase, I'm all for re-balloting and strike action if necessary.”

Gary Harvey, branch organiser said: “I have been working here for 22 years, I am being paid exactly the same now as I was 10 years ago. Members are having to work overtime just to make ends meet now; it used to be something people did just to earn a bit of extra cash for special occasions.”