Fed members would vote for full industrial rights without hesitation if they were offered, says Met branch chairman

Metropolitan Police Federation members are clamouring for full industrial rights as anger at the way they are being treated by government reaches boiling point.

Branch Chairman John Tully said officers now wanted swift action to strengthen their negotiating position, claiming their current status as crown servants was enabling the government to impose its will completely unchallenged.

He added: “Clearly we have now reached a position where we must accept that cuts of 20 per cent are here to stay – what we must do is mitigate the situation as best we can.

“If part of that means getting industrial rights then that is what we have to do.

“We now need to see some action and we must look to the national Fed for that – feelings on this issue are running extremely high among our members.”

Mr Tully was speaking after officers from Devon and Cornwall Police who had been forcibly retired under Regulation A19 were told they could not proceed with an employment tribunal after a judge ruled they could not be classed as “workers”.

The officers had claimed that they had not been properly consulted about the move and had hoped to launch an action under the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1992. But their position as crown servants made this impossible.

Nigel Rabbitts, Chairman of Devon and Cornwall Police Federation, said the police had become “second class workers with very few rights and avenues for negotiation”.

In sharing the sentiment, Mr Tully said that officers felt “hamstrung” with their position as they did not have a right challenge when they felt they were being badly treated.

While the national Police Federation was in the process of providing members with information about industrial rights – and that there would ultimately be a ballot – he said the feeling in the Met was that swift action was needed.

He added: “If you put the question to our members now about whether officers should be given full industrial rights, then the answer would be an overwhelming ‘yes’.

“The government is in a very good position at the moment – we cannot take industrial action and when we take our case to court we get rejected because of our status.”

As previously reported on PoliceOracle.com, Fed members are likely to face a battle if they ultimately choose full industrial rights. The government has rejected giving officers any option to strike, claiming their role was too important for labour to be withdrawn.

Speaking at the Police Federation annual conference in Bournemouth earlier in the year, Home Secretary Theresa May said that the move was “off limits”.

Mrs May firmly told Fed members: “I must be clear with you – the right to strike is not on the table. Keeping our communities safe is simply too important.”