The Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) said that around 6,500 civilian staff at the Metropolitan Police will strike on January 15 in a long-running row over a London cost-of-living allowance.

More than 130 union members at the London Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime will walk out from January 12 to 15 in a separate pay dispute.

Both groups of members will hold a rally on January 15 outside City Hall.

The Met Police civilian staff are demanding they receive the same fully consolidated £1,250 London allowance that their officer colleagues receive.

MOPAC members have outright rejected managers’ pay offers of 1.5 per cent and then 2 per cent — both real-terms pay cuts.

PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote says: “In both these cases, the employer can afford to do the right thing and meet their demands.

“Strikes in January will demonstrate yet again that members are as committed to justice in the workplace as they are to serving justice and the public through their jobs.”