THOUSANDS of civilian staff working for the Met Police are set to strike on New Year's Eve.
The union representing the workers, the Public and Commercial Services Union, insisted its members have had to take a real terms pay cut because of a below inflation rise of 1%.
The union represents around 7,500 civilian staff including 999 call handlers, support officersand staff who work in custody suites and support victims of crime.
Senior union reps are discussing the possibility of co-ordinating industrial action with the Fire Brigades' Union.
The union says the MPS can afford to pay staff more after saving millions of pounds on police staff salaries in recent years due to job cuts.
In an industrial action ballot, 72.5% voted for strike action on a 23.1% turnout.
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: "The Met Police is not short of money, it does not need to force pay cuts on low-paid staff who help to keep London safe."
