VIC Treasurer’s Plea to Police Amid Industrial Action

Victoria’s treasurer has urged police to think about the consequence of their actions as officers beef up industrial action ahead of the Australian Football League (AFL) Grand Final.
Tim Pallas accused the police union of taking action against the community as a consequence of their own failure to vote for a previous pay offer.
“I would urge police to think a bit sympathetically about the consequence of the actions,” he told reporters on Sep. 20.
“The police association knows full well they reached an agreement in principle with the government, they failed to be able to deliver that agreement through a vote of their membership.
“It seems a little perverse that they’re taking action against the community and the community’s interest as a consequence of their own failure.”
Pallas flagged the state would seek Fair Work Commission intervention to reconcile differences in the bargaining.
“We’re not going to see this as some sort of game in an ongoing negotiation process,” he said.
The verbal blast followed 15,000 officers voting to escalate efforts for better pay and working hours, including refusing to hand out on-the-spot traffic fines to drivers from Sep. 20 morning.
This is in addition to officers refusing to work at major and local events on their days off from next Sep. 25, just three days before the AFL Grand Final.
Police are calling for a 24 percent pay rise over the next four years and the introduction of 8.5 hour shifts.
Police Association of Victoria secretary Wayne Gatt said officers usually staffed major events using a voluntary duty system, which offered lower penalty rates, but would opt out as part of the action.
“You’ll still see police at events like (the grand final) but when you see that yellow vest, understand the government will be paying full freight, as it should, for their work on those days,” he told reporters.
The same approach could apply to the Spring Racing Carnival, including the Melbourne Cup, if the action continued until early November.
A police spokesman said the grand final would be staffed by the same number of police as previous years.
“Victoria Police will have sufficient numbers of police at the AFL Grand Final Parade and AFL Grand Final,” he said in a statement.
A state government spokeswoman said negotiations between all parties were continuing.
Earlier this month, police began alerting motorists to speed camera locations, painting slogans on police cars, and parking outside government buildings.
The pay dispute led to similar actions late last year, but they were paused during negotiations.
In May, an in-principle agreement was reached with officers securing a shift to a nine-day fortnight and a 16 percent pay rise over four years.
However, police union members voted against the deal.