Police unions challenge ban on strikes in pay dispute

Police officers are threatening to challenge laws banning them from striking, in the latest escalation of their dispute with the Home Office over pay and conditions.

With David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, showing no sign of making a compromise, a series of police federations are preparing to challenge their 83-year-old strike ban under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Rank-and-file officers voted by 10-to-one last week to reject proposals to curb overtime payments in return for general salary increases.

Bob Elder, the chairman of the Police Federation's constables' committee, said yesterday: "There is so much anger among the officers around the country that they are actually saying: 'We need to review this. We need to be looking at the European Court to see whether we can change our status as being a non-striking group.'

"What's been so disappointing is the way the police service has been run down – and that has been led by spin doctors within the Home department itself," he told GMTV and warned of mass resignations should Mr Blunkett drive through his reform package.

But the Home Secretary said he was "determined to go ahead with these reforms. We are talking about large payments and bonuses for officers who take on priority work. But I am not prepared to just pay up without increased performance where it matters."

Officers were claiming up to 60 hours in overtime each month, with much of the extra time accounted for by paperwork, he said. The Police Federation had opposed all attempts to reform pay and conditions for 20 years.

The Home Office released a letter Mr Blunkett has written to all chief constables and police authority chairmen urging them to argue the case for his proposed reforms. "A modernised pay and conditions system is an integral part of the overall police reform programme," he wrote. "Indeed, the other reforms will not be so effective in tackling crime if we do not get the reforms to pay and conditions as well.

"I am firmly on the side of rank-and-file officers, the vast majority of whom do an outstandingly professional job, day in and day out," he wrote. "We must make sure that this really is a good deal for them – not least, since it is worth around 4 to 5 per cent of the pay bill, with their annual pay award still to come."

But Simon Hughes, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, urged the Home Secretary to stop "winding up" the police in his drive for reform. "We must have less antagonism from government ministers. They really must stop name-calling against the police," Mr Hughes said.

Glen Smyth, the chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, accused Mr Blunkett of "behaving like a bully" and warned of further confrontation.

"This will only drive a wedge between the Government and the police," he said.

"This man is a bully, police officers deal with bullies on a daily basis, they don't scare us, we take them on."