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Police to decide right-to-strike Police vote for right to strike
(about 9 hours later)
Frontline police officers in England and Wales are set to reveal whether they will demand the right to strike. Police officers in England and Wales have voted by a big majority to lobby the government for the right to strike.
Police are currently banned from taking industrial action, but members of the Police Federation have been balloted on whether they want the law changed. Of those who voted, 93% wanted independent Police Arbitration Tribunal decisions to be made binding.
The result will be announced at the Federation's conference in Bournemouth. And in the absence of binding arbitration, 86% said the Police Federation should lobby for officers to be allowed "full industrial rights".
The vote followed a pay dispute which arose after Home Secretary Jacqui Smith introduced a 2.5% pay rise in stages, reducing the overall award to 1.9%. The vote followed a dispute over a 2.5% pay rise to be awarded in stages, which reduced the overall increase to 1.9%.
The result of the ballot was announced at the Police Federation's conference in Bournemouth.
Ballot papers were sent to 140,000 police constables, sergeants and inspectors, and 60,572 of them voted - a turn-out of 43%.
An informal survey of 9,000 members of the Police Federation in Northern Ireland produced similar results on a "satisfactory turnout".
Arbitration deals
In January, officers decided to seek the views of their colleagues following a mass rally in London.In January, officers decided to seek the views of their colleagues following a mass rally in London.
More than 20,000 officers marched on Westminster following the home secretary's pay decision. More than 20,000 officers marched on Westminster following Home Secretary Jacqui Smith's pay decision.
Police officers have been asked whether they should lobby for the right to strike, in addition to other industrial rights, if ministers failed to abide with pay arbitration deals. Police officers were asked whether they should lobby for the right to strike - in addition to other industrial rights - if ministers failed to abide with pay arbitration deals.
The police are currently banned from going on strike or taking other action, and any such action is a criminal offence. The police are currently banned from going on strike or taking other industrial action, and any such action is a criminal offence.
Scotland's rank-and-file police officers have already voted against being given the right to strike. At their conference, members of the Scottish Police Federation rejected the right to demand full strike action but voted narrowly in favour of seeking other industrial rights.
But, at the Scottish Police Federation's annual conference last month, officers did vote in favour of being allowed to take other forms of industrial action, which are currently outlawed under police regulations. There was less anger about pay levels in Scotland as police officers had their 2007-8 pay rise backdated to September 2007 giving them the full benefit of the 2.5% increase.
However in Scotland, there was less anger about pay levels as police officers did have their 2007-8 pay rise backdated to September 2007 giving them the full benefit of the 2.5% increase - unlike colleagues in England whose increase was backdated to December. Colleagues in other parts of the UK had their increase backdated only to December.