Police vote for right to industrial action
23 Apr 08
Officers stop short of strike call, though vote still requires change in legislation
Police officers have voted to call for the right to take industrial action such as working to rule, but have held back from supporting the right to strike.
At the Scottish Police Federation's annual conference in Peebles yesterday, 53% of delegates said they wanted to be able to take industrial action in the future. However, the motion for full strike action was defeated, with 56% against the idea.
Acquiring the right to take any form of industrial action would require a change in legislation, because the law currently prevents police officers from doing so.
The Scottish Police Federation's chairman Norrie Flowers said the UK Government had devalued police pay. Officers in England and Wales recently received a pay rise of 1.9% after Home Secretary Jacqui Smith overruled the decision of an independent arbitration body. The Scottish Government, however, ratified the deal so that Scottish police officers were given a 2.5% rise.
Mr Flowers added that if the UK Government decided to treat police officers like other workers, then police officers ought to have the same rights.
Working to rule might, for example, result in officers refusing to work overtime and therefore compromising police operations.