Met police strike called off

The Metropolitan Police Service averted strike action over pay yesterday (Wednesday)

The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union, which has been meeting with employers all week, said they called off the strike as “an act of good will”.

Last week, according to the PCS figures, up to 9,000 of its members (70% of staff) voted for the one-day strike action. Workers included police community support officers, traffic wardens and 999 operators. Two hundred police stations across 32 boroughs would have been hit.

But the strike was called off after talks between the two parties.

 “We decided to suspend the industrial action after receiving a strong signal from the Metropolitan Police management that we will receive a better offer,” a PCS spokesman told HR.

The Met Police’s HR director, Martin Tiplady, said: “Discussions were constructive and we hope that agreement on a way ahead will be reached shortly."

Employees had been offered a 2.5% pay rise, which falls well below the retail price index measure of inflation (4.1%) that the unions use.

More talks are planned for tomorrow (Friday).