The Met Police have backed down on plans to force out dozens of Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) previously tasked with enforcing red route restrictions on roads managed by Transport for London (TfL).
By Kumail Jaffer, Local Democracy Reporter
The Met Police have backed down on plans to force out dozens of Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) previously tasked with enforcing red route restrictions on roads managed by Transport for London (TfL).
In December the Met announced plans to transfer the the responsibility back to TfL, who oversee the red routes, despite the network’s plans to outsource the work to a private contractor.
The PCSOs who carried out the enforcement were originally not allowed to apply for other roles in the Met, however, and looked set to be forced out. The transfer date to the new firm, Marston Holdings, was originally set to take place on June 8.
However, today (Friday, June 5) the Met confirmed they have stepped in to “prevent dozens of PCSOs losing their jobs almost overnight” after suggesting Marston Holdings disputed the transfer.
A Met Police spokesperson said: “The Met stepped in yesterday to prevent dozens of PCSOs losing their jobs almost overnight.
“A team of 59 PCSOs funded by TfL, dedicated to red route enforcement, had been due to transfer under TUPE from the Met to another provider – Marston Holdings.
“It is deeply disappointing that Marston Holdings have failed to honour the expected protections for our PCSOs.”
However, London Assembly Members and Public and Commercial Services (PCS), the union representing the PCSOs, criticised the amount of time it took for the Met to step in.
Liberal Democrat Assembly Member Gareth Roberts told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “This is a welcome and necessary intervention from the Met, and a real relief that these 59 PCSOs will not lose their jobs almost overnight. These are skilled, experienced officers who deserve security and respect, and Londoners benefit from keeping them in public service.
“But it should never have come this close to the wire. The Mayor should have intervened far earlier. We pressed him time and again, but his failure to act quickly caused needless stress, upset and uncertainty for people who put themselves on the frontline of policing to make London safer.”
Caroline Russell, Leader of the Green Group on the London Assembly, added: “I’m relieved that a resolution has at last been achieved but it should never have taken so long.
“This outcome would not have been reached without the determination of the affected PSCOs themselves and the tireless work of their union who fought relentlessly to protect their jobs.
“The uncertainty and anxiety caused by this situation is unacceptable. I’ve received countless heartbreaking emails from workers, many with over 20 years of service with bills to pay, children to feed and families depending on them.
“It’s disgraceful that workers have spent months in a deeply distressing state of employment rights limbo, caught in the middle of a bureaucratic row between the Met and Transport for London.
“I have been raising this case – in public and in private – with the Mayor, Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Deputy Mayor for Transport, the Met and TfL, for over five months.
“While it is welcome that the Met has finally stepped up to resolve this dispute, it’s disappointing to see blame being passed around. All organisations involved must take a hard look at how this situation came about and work together to ensure that no group of workers is ever placed in such a vulnerable position again.”
PCS General Secretary Fran Heathcote said: “Met staff were facing losing their livelihoods through no fault of their own. PCS stood firm, raised this at every level, and worked with partners across London to force action.
“As a result of that pressure, the Met has now done the right thing and agreed to keep these dedicated PCSOs within policing, where their skills and experience are desperately needed.
“This outcome shows exactly why trade unions matter. When we organise, campaign, and apply pressure, we can protect jobs and defend public service.”
The Mayor of London previously said that the Met’s decision was based on a “desire to focus on core policing issues” but admitted he has “enormous sympathy” for what the PCSOs went through during the uncertain transfer period.
“What TfL said is that the Met had decided to stop providing red route enforcement services to them – since 2014, this has been outsourced to the Met, TfL has no expertise in this area,” he told Assembly Members in March.
“Because of this and the importance of this role, what TfL did was procure a private company to do this work.”
When the issue was raised again at Mayor’s Question Time late last month, he told the London Assembly: “Ultimately, the Met is responsible for the operation decision – I hope this difficult issue is resolved quickly.
“My Deputy Mayor for Police and Crime has written to the Deputy Commissioner to seek assurances on this issue and to check that all redeployment options have been considered by the Met. The impact this is having on the PCSOs and their families is not good enough.”
A TfL spokesperson said: “We are pleased that an agreement has now been reached, having consistently put to the MPS that it is important to do the right thing by these PCSOs and regularly offered to support the MPS – financially or otherwise – to help ease the process of any required retraining.
“As the employer of the PCSOs concerned, the MPS is responsible for handling all employment matters resulting from its decision to cease to provide Red Route enforcement services to TfL as part of its New Met for London plan. This decision was solely taken by the MPS and therefore TfL had to undertake a competitive procurement to deliver these services. Whether employment transfer of the Met’s PCSOs to the new supplier (Marston) legally applies could only be determined by those two organisations.”
Marston Holdings was contacted for comment.
