1872 Metropolitan Police strike

April 2022 The 1872 Metropolitan Police strike was a refusal to work by 180 men of 'D' (Marylebone), 'E' (Holborn) and 'T' (Kensington) Divisions of the Metropolitan Police of London on 16 November. The strike was held in protest at the dismissal of PC Henry or Harry Goodchild (1840-1899),Henry ('Harry') Goodchild (1840-1899), Police constable; union organiser https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp162040/police-constable-goodchild National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery 30 March 2023 NPG D48316 who had acted as a secretary coordinating meetings amongst police who were demanding improvements over pay and conditions.2009 Policeman as a Worker: Pay and Industrial Unrest http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/history-from-police-archives/Met6Kt/PoliceWorker/pwPayIndUrst.html live 2021-07-13 Open University International Centre for the History of Crime, Policing and Justice https://web.archive.org/web/20110605222021/http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/history-from-police-archives/Met6Kt/PoliceWorker/pwPayIndUrst.html 2011-06-05 It is considered the first strike by police in the United Kingdom.Timeline 1829 to 1899 – Friends of the Metropolitan Police Heritage Charity https://fomphc.com/timeline-1829-to-1899/ usurped 2021-07-13 en-UK https://web.archive.org/web/20191022112142/http://fomphc.com/timeline-1829-to-1899/ 2019-10-22 The strike only lasted a few hours. Of the police who stopped work, 69 were dismissed from the force. The rest were allowed back on duty after having had apologised for their conduct. They gained improvements in pay and conditions, but did not form a trade union – most officers considered the police a quasi-military institution and so would not consider this. This action was significant for establishing a precedent for collective action by police in order to improve working conditions.Fido and Skinner, The Scotland Yard Encyclopedia, pages 205-206 References Category:1872 in London Category:Police strikes Category:History of the Metropolitan Police Category:1872 labor disputes and strikes