Unite the Union, photo Paul Mattsson, photo Paul Mattsson

Unite the Union, photo Paul Mattsson, photo Paul Mattsson   (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)

Hackney Council has been forced to bring its parking wardens in-house, ending a 16-year arrangement with private company APCOA, following a campaign and strike action by the workers, members’ of union Unite.

Unite called directly on Hackney Mayor Philip Glanville to have the service run directly by the council earlier this year, after the borough’s traffic wardens went on strike with calls for an increase in pay and reports of workers facing physical violence as a ‘regular occurrence’.

Unite regional officer Onay Kasab says: “Unite has campaigned, lobbied and taken strike action to win exactly the points now agreed by Hackney Council. It has been a tough campaign, but it has resulted in a great win that should send a clear message to other councils in London that the days of the flawed outsourcing business model are numbered.”

The service will now come back under local authority control when the contract ends in March 2022.