In a spectacular cock-up/communication breakdown/deliberate betrayal (delete as appropriate) the PCS and Unite unions have severely dented the hopes of UK police officers to make a protest felt by marching on London on May 10th.
How's that?
When the police last marched, in 2008, there was around 25000 officers protesting. The changes now being made to numbers, pensions, terms & conditions etc are even more strongly opposed. I would have thought that numbers on the day could have been 30 000 to 50 000 officers, all protesting. That would have made a sizable spectacle, one that not even the UK media could ignore. (Up till now, the UK media has done an excellent job of ignoring the protests of police officers from England & Wales. The BBC has done itself especially proud by not mentioning it at all.)
The plan was, then, to have as many as 50 000 officers marching through the streets. Quite a site, quite a statement.
Then, PCS and Unite decided to strike and stage protests on the same day. Why they chose May 10th is anyone's guess. Unite have ignored my request for an explanation, and other interested parties have asked the same question.
Why is it important? Well, two main reasons. Firstly, in the face of widespread strike action and demonstrations, many police areas will cancel rest days and annual leave to ensure that the strikes are adequately policed. The officers who are recalled to work have no choice in the matter - such are their terms & conditions that they can't strike or refuse to work. This means that many officers who wanted to come to London to protest - and will have already booked time off and travel/accommodation plans - will now not be able to because they will be obliged to work.
Secondly, 50 000 officers marching on their own, as I've said, is quite a sight. Now significantly reduce the number of officers and add on 100 000 other protesters from PCS and Unite, and we've now simply for "a large protest by public sector workers". What police protest? You mean the police were protesting as well? The media is already ignoring the destruction of UK policing by this Government. How much coverage do you think it will get now?
I'm not saying for one moment that PCS & Unite shouldn't have a strike. That's a matter for them and their members. After all, unlike the police, they already have the right to strike, so why not use it? In fact they have other strikes planned for later in the year. What PCS & Unite have done is the equivalent of turning up to a wedding in a big white dress and upstaging the bride. May 10th was supposed to be the day for the police officers of this country, the ones with no industrial rights at all. Police officers can't even join a union, let alone strike. Did you know that? The Police Federation is a staff association, and can actually do little to force the Government's hand on anything. It's an offence to incite disobedience among police officers. Basically, the rank-and-file officers are over a barrel. It was supposed to be time to fight back and show the strength of feeling among officers.
PCS and Unite KNEW that the police were marching on May 10th. They were told by the Police Federation as soon as the march was announced. I am told that there was even consultation with PCS & Unite, but they metaphorically gave the police service the finger and decided to go ahead anyway.
Unite and PCS unions have selfishly decided to ruin and neuter the police protest.
SHAME ON YOU Unite & PCS.
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