Metropolitan Police staff to strike on New Year’s Eve over pay

Union chief has warned strikes may mean ‘delays to emergency callouts’

Unite members from the force will walk out on New Year’s Eve in a dispute over pay (PA Archive)

Metropolitan Police staff are set to stage a 25-hour strike on New Year’s Eve, a move that trade union Unite warns could lead to "delays to emergency callouts" during one of London's busiest nights.

The industrial action, involving 175 Unite members from the Met’s central command, including call handlers, office staff, fleet service, and technicians, will commence at 6 am on 31 December.

This coincides with hundreds of thousands of people expected to gather across the capital for New Year celebrations.

The dispute centres on pay, with Unite stating that affected staff have not received a pay increase for 2025/6, in contrast to police officers across the UK, including the Met, who were granted a 4.2 per cent rise.

Unite emphasised the potential impact, stating: "As a significant night in policing, strike action will be very disruptive including causing delays to emergency callouts."

The walkout is poised to significantly disrupt police operations during a critical period.

Lasting 25 hours from 6am on New Year’s Eve, the strike will affect one of the busiest days of the year as hundreds of thousands of people are expected to join new year celebrations across London (Alamy/PA)

The union said the Met had put forward two provisional offers – 3.8 per cent or 4.2 per cent – which it said was “conditional on workers accepting vastly inferior conditions”.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “It is unacceptable that our members in the Met are the only workers in UK police forces that have not yet had their pay rise.

“It is a disgrace that the Met has dangled the carrot of a pay rise but is also offering the stick of attacks on workers’ terms and conditions.

“Unite won’t allow our members’ conditions to worsen and the workers have the union’s full support throughout this dispute.”

Unite regional officer Keith Henderson said: “We know Londoners will be concerned to hear of strikes on New Year’s Eve, but our members at the Met feel they have no choice but to strike in their fight for a fair pay rise.

“They are being financially penalised by their employer for poor management decisions and cuts that were not their fault.

“The Met has a chance to stop this industrial action, but that relies on it coming back and offering staff the fair pay rise they deserve in line with all the other forces in the country and without changes to terms and conditions.”

The Metropolitan Police have been approached for comment.