More Met staff to strike in flexible working row

The force says it is "working through the impact" of the strike

A trade union boss has said there is "no reason" for civilian employees with the Metropolitan Police to come into the office, with members set to take strike action in a dispute over flexible working.

The Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) said about 350 of its members who work as civilian staff at the Met would walk out from 17 to 28 March.

Other union members in the force's civilian workforce took industrial action last month in a similar dispute.

A Met spokesman said the "vast majority of our hard-working staff" were complying with a new hybrid working policy.

Front line 'not affected'

PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said: "There is no reason why our highly skilled and hard-working members need to come into the office.

"They don't have public-facing jobs and have been working very efficiently from home.

"We call, once again, on managers to meet with us and resolve this dispute to the benefit of us, them and the wider London public."

The Met said it was "currently working through the impact" the strike might have, but services like call-handling and other front-line roles would be not be affected.

The spokesman said: "We have been engaging with our staff and trade unions for over a year on this policy, which is in line with many other organisations. Ultimately, this is about our commitment to delivering a better service for Londoners."

Last month more than 300 members of Met Police staff held a two-week strike in a dispute over hybrid working.

Workers in the referencing and vetting team had planned to continue working from home despite being expected in the office but were told they would still be docked pay if they did this.