Metropolitan Police staff are set to go on strike over pay on New Year’s Eve, the trade union Unite has confirmed.
The walkout, which will last 25 hours, is expected to cause “delays to emergency callouts”.
The strike occurs on one of the busiest nights of the year for the Met, as hundreds of thousands of people are expected to join in New Year celebrations across London.
175 workers from the Met’s central command, such as call handlers, office staff, fleet service and technicians, will take part in the action, which commences at 6am on December 31.
The staff striking are essential in reporting crimes and dispatching emergency vehicles such as police cars and motorbikes.
Call centre staff did not receive a pay rise from the Met for 2025/26.
This is despite Met Police officers, along with other forces across the UK, receiving a 4.2 per cent rise.
Metropolitan police staff are set to go on strike over pay on New Year’s Eve, the trade union Unite has confirmed
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PAThe Met have put forward two provisional offers: 3.8 per cent, below RPI (Retail Price Index), and 4.2 per cent, conditional on workers accepting “vastly inferior conditions”.
Unite General sSecretary 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 said that the action will be “very disruptive” on “a significant night in policing”.
Last year, policing on New Year’s Eve cost the Met £2.3million.
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 Met Police have been approached for comment.