Police admit Bonfire Night strikes 'putting Londoners at risk' due to 'shortfall' of staff
Met Police staff including those who work in 999 call centres and on forensics and counter terrorism teams are due to walk out
The Met Police has admitted "insufficient resources" in 999 call centres and custody suites could put the public at risk, as almost 6,500 staff are due to walk out on Bonfire Night in a dispute over pay.
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The force has admitted they will have to "backfill" the roles by pulling police officers off the street, with a source telling LBC that the force is worried 999 calls will go unanswered.
Almost 6,500 Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) members employed by the Met will walk out after they were refused a London allowance by management.
This includes 999 call handlers, detention officers, police community support officers, public access officers, as well as people who work in vetting, intelligence, forensics, counter terrorism, admin, finance, and HR.
They say they are facing a double-standard - with officers paid a £1,250 London allowance that isn't available to police staff.
The Met Police is making plans to redeploy some of its 34,000 police officers to cover the striking police staff’s work.
PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said: “Rent, mortgage repayments, food prices and energy bills have been rising for everyone in London – so why does the Met treat its civilian staff differently to officers?
"Removing police officers from frontline duties is both negligent and careless. The Met has deliberately ignored our practical solutions, aware that its continued commitment to a two-tier workforce would lead to strikes.
Read more: When is Bonfire Night in 2025, and where can you watch fireworks?
"To prevent any disruption to the vital services our members provide to the people of London every day, this payment must be paid immediately to civilian staff."
The PCS’s Met Police group president David Parrock told LBC: "We don’t want to be on picket lines, we want to be doing our jobs.
“If we are going to take strike action we need it to have the most impact so that the message is loud and clear, and hopefully change happens.”
He accused Met Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley of ‘short-changing’ police staff.
“Our members have got no choice. We’ve got members using food banks, they can’t afford to not receive that £1,250."
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Service said: "While we genuinely value officers and staff equally, pay and allowances are completely different, reflecting the fundamental differences in roles, responsibilities and expectations.
"In a shrinking Met with a £260m budget gap, we cannot justify spending millions to give staff the £1,250 award, as they don’t face the same recruitment and retention challenges as officers.
"We have made a reasonable alternative offer to the trade unions to settle the dispute and remain open to finding a solution.
“It is disappointing that strike action has been planned at a time of high operational demand when insufficient resource in areas including our 999 call centres and custody suites could put the public at risk.
“We are stepping up our plans to minimise impact by backfilling key staff roles with officers – which will mean taking them out of their usual roles – so we can continue core services to protect communities across London who rely on us.”
