Police vote for right to strike

 
4 March 2013

Thousands of police officers in England and Wales have voted for the right to take industrial action following rows over spending cuts.

The Police Federation said a ballot of its 133,000 members showed 45,651 in favour and 10,681 against.

However, just under half of the federation's members took part in the ballot - not enough to seek a mandate under its rules.

Steve Williams, chairman of the federation, said: "A significant proportion of our membership has indicated that they want the right to take industrial action. This highlights the pressures currently felt by rank and file officers throughout England and Wales.

"However, it would not be appropriate to undertake a course of action that could potentially change the employment status of more than 133,000 police officers if fewer than half of those officers have voted for us to do so.

"Our members value their unique employment status as servants of the crown (the Office of Constable), and I believe the vast majority of them would view industrial action as a last resort.

"However, the significant number that voted in favour of the right to take industrial action have done so in response to the reforms and changes to policing which are being proposed and implemented by the government, and the impact those changes are having on officers' ability to do their jobs and on their morale."

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