Up to 300 security staff at the Palace of Westminster will stage a twenty four hour strike tomorrow in a long-running row over imposed shift patterns, the Public and Commercial Services union announces. The workers, employed by the Metropolitan Police, keep the Palace of Westminster safe and secure, and are well respected by MPs, peers, parliamentary staff and visitors.
Staff accepted two years ago that shifts had to change as overtime is currently paid on Friday nights because there are not enough volunteers but, the PCS say that, during protracted talks senior Met officials repeatedly moved the goalposts when the union presented a series of proposals. Now the PCS claim the Met is imposing its own roster today despite 95% of the security guards boycotting a ballot on whether to accept it because of the risks its poses to their health and wellbeing.
The latest alternative drawn up by staff would mean a longer run of night shifts but with more days off in between, while being fully compliant with European working time and health and safety regulations. In light of the Met's refusal to re-enter talks, 74% of the union's members voted for a strike and 91.5% voted for other forms of industrial action, on a 44% turnout. The walkout, from 6am Tuesday to 6am Wednesday, will seriously disrupt security arrangements in parliament, with police officers expected to be drafted in to provide cover at great expense. The 24-hour stoppage will be followed by a three-day work to rule and overtime ban.
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: "Anyone who works in parliament or has ever visited will have been greeted by these friendly, dedicated security staff who have been treated appallingly by their Met Police bosses. It is outrageous that the Met is trying to impose new ways of working on staff who have bent over backwards to come up with suitable alternatives, only to be ignored."
