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Labour Conference 2

COPS TO CALL FOR STRIKE VOTE IN BRUM

29-02-2008

Police officers will ambush ministers arriving for the Labour Spring conference in Birmingham today by calling for a vote on whether they should be allowed to strike.

Members of the Police Federation, led by their chair Jan Berry, will gather this lunchtime at Bar Risa on Broad Street, just a few dozen yards from where Gordon Brown and his colleagues will be meeting party hacks at the ICC.

The Police Act outlaws strike action, but the Federation is in the mood for head-on conflict after Home Secretary Jacqui Smith refused to fund their pay settlement in full – even though it was imposed by independent arbitration.

Paul Tonks, who speaks Police Fed in the West Midlands, summed up the angry mood: “No police officer wants to strike and that’s why we have an arbitration process. The trouble is thaty they reneged on the deal.

“If we had our full industrial rights they would have start taking us seriously – as we’ve seen with Birmingham City Council after their workers went on strike.

“Because we haven’t got full industrial rights, they can take advantage of us, but all this could have been avoided.

“If they could afford to put £150million into a building society, they could have spent £21million nett into the police – but as we know Jacqui Smith is just the puppet of Gordon Brown.”

The Federation will be backed at their meeting by Brendan Barber, the TUC’s General Secretary and will re-emphasise their message by having a car with an “A-board” running along Hagley Road all day calling for fair pay.

See also “Police Anger At Jacqui Smith ‘Deceit’”

SHOULD THE POLICE BE ALLOWED TO STRIKE? AND SHOULD THE GOVERNMENT MEET THEIR PAY SETTLEMENT IN FULL? LEAVE A COMMENT ON THE MESSAGE BOARD