London faces significant disruption to its emergency services on New Year's Eve as Metropolitan Police staff prepare to walk out in a major pay dispute.
Industrial Action Details and Timing
A 25-hour strike by 175 Metropolitan Police staff is scheduled to begin at 6 am on Wednesday, 31 December. The industrial action, organised by the Unite trade union, will involve workers from the Met's central command unit, including emergency call handlers, office staff, and technical support personnel.
The walkout is set to last through the entire New Year's Eve celebrations, concluding at 7 am on New Year's Day. This timing places it directly during one of the capital's busiest and most demanding nights for police and emergency services.
Root Cause: The Pay Dispute
The core issue driving the strike is pay. The staff involved, who are civilian employees rather than sworn police officers, have not received a pay increase for the 2025/6 financial year. This stands in stark contrast to police officers, who were awarded a 4.2 per cent pay rise.
Unite has stated that provisional pay offers from the Metropolitan Police were made conditional on workers accepting what the union describes as "vastly inferior conditions." Unite's General Secretary, Sharon Graham, has condemned this approach, labelling it unacceptable and forcing the union's hand towards industrial action.
Potential Impact on Public Safety
Unite has issued a stark warning about the potential consequences of the strike. The union says the action could lead to delays in emergency callouts, as critical control room and support functions are scaled back.
With central London typically hosting hundreds of thousands of revelers for fireworks displays and celebrations, the strike threatens to strain police resources on a night that already requires maximum operational capacity. The public is being alerted to the possibility of slower response times for non-emergency calls and potential disruptions to normal service.
The Metropolitan Police now faces a race against time to implement contingency plans and mitigate the impact of this significant industrial action on one of the most high-profile nights of the year.
