City of Melbourne parking inspectors return to work after eight-day strike

Parking inspectors have returned to work in Melbourne’s CBD and the surrounding suburbs after an eight-day strike that led some lucky motorists to dodge a parking fine.

City of Melbourne parking officers walked off the job last week. Picture: Jason Edwards

City of Melbourne parking officers are back on the beat after a week-long strike that would have seen some lucky motorists dodge a parking fine.

More than 30 officers walked off the job last Tuesday, saying they had been subjected to an increasing number of assaults from members of the public angry over faulty parking meters.

The Herald Sun understands that the strike is likely to have cost the City of Melbourne hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue, with a limited number of fines issued for parking infringements over that period.

The latest council budget expects to collect $40m in parking fines this year.

This equates to more than $100,000 a day.

The officers, who returned to work on Thursday morning, said they wanted to work in pairs for better security, but Town Hall bosses had insisted they work individually.

A City of Melbourne spokesman on Friday said the safety of its frontline workers remains its “number one priority”.

“We’ve been working with parking officers to address their safety concerns — and we encourage everyone to respect our officers as they carry out their regular duties,” he said.

The Herald Sun understands that officers are now working “in close proximity”.

Australian Services Union secretary Tash Wark. Picture: Supplied

Australian Services Union secretary Tash Wark said its members have a right to feel safe in their workplace and not be subject to “unwarranted attacks”.

“If members of the public have a concern about faulty parking meters, we encourage them to take it to decision makers, the CEO or directors, not workers on the street trying to do their jobs,” she said.

The council has also established “new transparent processes” to address any ongoing or future issues with the parking machine technology, according to the ASU.

“I’m sure the people of Melbourne will recognise City of Melbourne parking officers have pushed hard for these changes to ensure the public aren’t wrongly fined,” Ms Wark said.

It is believed the council had denied major problems with the parking machine technology and that legal advice had been sought.

An ASU spokesman last week said that the officers had been threatened with dismissal by the council and the union had applied to WorkSafe for a provisional improvement notice because of the council’s lack of response to the officers’ concerns.